By James M. Rochford

Jeremiah is the longest prophetic book in the Bible, and the second longest book in the OT (besides Psalms). While we know more about Jeremiah than any other OT prophet, Charles Feinberg also notes, “Some expositors have judged Jeremiah’s prophecy to be the most difficult in the OT.”^[1] Therefore, it is important to get as much of his historical setting as possible in order to interpret him well.

Who was Jeremiah?

Dates of Jeremiah’s ministry (626 BC). Jeremiah holds the record for having the longest prophetic ministry. He was called to his ministry in 626 BC and continued to preach through the Babylonian exile in 586 BC down to about 582 BC, a ministry of some 45 years. Gleason Archer writes, “Jeremiah began his ministry at about twenty years of age in the thirteenth year of Josiah, that is, 626 BC For the greater part of his life he lived in his hometown of Anathoth (for he was of a priestly family) and appeared at Jerusalem at the annual feast days of the Jewish religious year.”^[2] Charles Feinberg also notes, “He was called to the prophetic office in 626 (1:2; 25:3) and served in it for more than forty years.”^[3] He preached in Jerusalem until the Fall of Judah in 586 BC (Jer. 7:2; 22:1; 27:1-2; 32:1). He stuck around Jerusalem among the survivors for a little bit after Jerusalem’s destruction (Jer. 40-44). He eventually fled to Egypt, where he most likely died (Jer. 42-43).

Jeremiah’s background. Jeremiah was probably relatively young, when God called him to serve as a prophet. Charles Feinberg also notes, “He was probably about twenty though naʿar (‘child,’ 1:6-7) is difficult to define chronologically because this Hebrew noun only conveys the concept of relative age.”^[4] Jeremiah was probably a man of moderate wealth, because he was able to purchase a field with his own money (Jer. 32:6ff). The Lord did not allow him to marry (16:2), probably because of the turmoil that he knew he’d go through. Jeremiah lived as a contemporary with other prophets. These would include Zephaniah, Obadiah, Huldah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. It is also highly likely that Habakkuk and Nahum were his contemporaries. He was closest with Ezekiel, however. Charles Feinberg also notes, “Especially close is the relationship between Jeremiah and Ezekiel; some eighteen clear points of contact between them have been demonstrated.”^[5]

Jeremiah’s personality. Jeremiah seems like a sensitive temperament. He is called the “weeping prophet” for a reason (Jer. 9:1)! Yet God allowed him to go through considerable verbal and physical attack. Archer comments, “Although he was sensitive to the extreme, he was forced to undergo a constant barrage of slander and persecution that would normally have crushed the most callous spirit. Introspective and retiring by nature, he was ever thrust into the limelight. Occasionally, he attempted to throw off his prophetic responsibility as a burden too heavy for him to bear, but again and again he returned to the call of duty, and by the power of the Lord stood indeed as a ‘tower of bronze’ (1:18).”^[6] Charles Feinberg also notes, “He had encountered more opposition from more enemies than any other OT prophet.”^[7] And yet, despite his sensitive nature, he persevered boldly through God’s empowerment.

Jeremiah’s battle. This prophet fought against horrendous conditions in the nation of Israel. The people were worshipping the false gods Baal (2:8, 23; 7:9; 9:14; 11:13, 17; 12:16; 19:4; 23:13, 27; 32:29, 35) and Ishtar (7:18; 44:17-19, 25). This resulted in child sacrifice (19:5; 32:35). Even those who were “following” Yahweh were oppressing the poor (2:34; 5:26-28; 7:5-6) and engaging in empty ritualism (6:20; 14:12).

Doesn’t the Septuagint and Masoretic Text disagree on Jeremiah’s book?

The Septuagint (LXX) and the Masoretic Text (MT) are very different from one another. According to Archer, the LXX is about one-eighth shorter than the MT, and chapters 46-51 are placed after chapter 25 in the LXX. Feinberg estimates roughly 2,700 words are different with the LXX.^[8] Moreover, Jeremiah 33:14-26 is missing in the LXX.^[9] Mark Rooker notes that many of these differences come from (1) the LXX cuts the expression “Thus says the Lord…” some 65 times; (2) the LXX shortens “The Lord God of Israel” to “the Lord”; (3) the LXX uses the word “prophet,” instead of the full name; the LXX excludes Nechadnezzar’s title “the king of Babylon.”^[10] How do we explain these differences?

(1) Jeremiah lived in Egypt toward the end of his life. Mark Rooker writes, “Possibly the differences between the MT and the LXX can be explained based on the fact that Jeremiah himself spent his last years in Egypt (41:16-44:30), the site of the LXX translation.”^[11]

(2) Jeremiah distributed part of his book in his lifetime, but Baruch distributed Jeremiah’s complete book after the prophet’s death. It is most likely that Jeremiah’s original was passed out in his lifetime. But posthumously, Baruch passed out Jeremiah’s complete book (see Jer. 36:32).

Regardless of our view, it is important to note that the Hebrew text has been very accurately delivered to us. Charles Feinberg notes, “All known Hebrew MSS of Jeremiah contain substantially the same text. It is possible to trace the MT back to the end of the first century AD. Contemporary scholars are sure that the Hebrew text of Jeremiah is well preserved.”^[12] Mark Rooker writes, “In spite of these differences, which as mentioned above are more acute than in any other OT book, the same message is conveyed whether one reads the MT or the LXX.”^[13]

Key themes in Jeremiah

Jeremiah preached that the Temple was not a sign of security. Since the nation had fallen into idolatry and moral evils, God was revoking his protection of Israel. While the people were depending on the Temple for security, Jeremiah was warning them that this was not the case.

Jeremiah preached surrender to the Babylonians. He viewed the Babylonian attacks as divine judgment, and therefore, they need to be accepted. This was one of the main reasons that his nation, friends, and family hated him so much. Jeremiah wrote down his own messages himself (Jer. 30:2; 36:2; 51:60). But King Jehoiakim was so angry with them, that he had them burned. As a result, God had him rewrite his entire message (Jer. 36:32).

Jeremiah preached that the nation should trust God—not human ability. He writes, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord” (Jer. 17:5).

Jeremiah 1:1-3:5 (Jeremiah’s Calling)

Listen to D.A. Carson’s lecture on Jeremiah 1:1-3:5 here

(1:1-2) Jeremiah was a priest by birth “but a prophet by calling.”^[14] Jeremiah received his calling in 626 BC—five years before Josiah’s reforms (2 Kin. 22-23).^[15]

(1:3) Jeremiah served until the Exile in 586 BC (2 Kin. 25:4-10).

(1:4) God spoke to Jeremiah (“the word of the Lord came to me…”), rather than giving him a vision.

(1:5) Jeremiah’s calling for ministry was foreordained by God. God took the initiative in four ways: “formed… knew… consecrated… appointed.” Jeremiah was a naturally timid man, which we can infer from the rest of the chapter. God begins talking to Jeremiah to quell his fears, telling Jeremiah that he created him with a specific calling.

(1:6) Like Moses (Ex. 4:10), Jeremiah objects that he isn’t a good enough speaker. He also objects that he’s too young. The Hebrew term for “youth” (naʿar) had a broad range. It can be used for a baby (Ex. 2:6), young military men (Gen. 14:24), or a political revolutionary (2 Sam. 18:5). Since he served God for so long (626-586), Feinberg speculates that Jeremiah could have been around 20 years old.^[16]

Unlike Moses, Jeremiah was preaching a message of judgment to Israel—not redemption.

(1:7) Here is the commission of a true prophet: Speak only what God tells you to. This is a good picture of God’s guidance and empowering in ministry. Feinberg comments, “God never makes a mistake in choosing his servants (v.7). He empowers all he calls and provides the encouragement and help they need.”^[17]

(1:8) Jeremiah would later be turned on by his own people and accused of treason for speaking against Israel and predicting its doom. God tells him from the beginning that this wouldn’t be easy. The cure for fear is to remember that God is with you.

(1:9) Isaiah had the experience of God forgiving his sins by metaphorically putting a hot coal on his mouth (Isa. 6:7). Like Isaiah’s insecurity about being too sinful, God touched Jeremiah’s mouth—the very part of Jeremiah that he was so insecure about.

(1:10) God doesn’t soften the blow by saying, “Don’t be afraid… It won’t be that bad.” He speaks clearly about what Jeremiah would do as a prophet. The words are both “destructive and constructive.”^[18] Through Jeremiah, God would announce both judgment and redemption.

The Almond Rod

(1:11-12) Almond trees sprout in January, and so, they let people know that spring was just around the corner.^[19] Similarly, the almond tree represented the fact that God was going to soon judge the people. This referred to the timing of the judgment, which was imminent. Craigie writes, “In response to the initial question, Jeremiah says he sees a shaqed (almond); God responds that he is shoqed (watching). In other words, the word play indicates that the tree and the divine watching are intimately interrelated.”^[20] Jeremiah’s first vision is that God is watching over him.

The Boiling Pot

(1:13-14) If the first vision represented the timing of God’s judgment, the second vision shows the type of judgment—namely, it would be devastating. Babylon was east of Judah, but their armies came in through the north, because of the “impassable Arabian desert.”^[21]

(1:15-16) God was going to judge Judah (the southern kingdom) because of their idolatry.

(1:17) Jeremiah didn’t have a choice over whether he would be afraid, but rather, whom he would fear: the people or God.

(1:18) God promised to turn this scared, youthful boy and turn him into a “fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze.”

(1:19) How could Jeremiah stand up to people so boldly? God tells him that his presence was the key.

Jeremiah 2 (Marriage and adultery)

God gives an almost legal prosecution of the nation of Israel. He married them, but they volitionally rejected him for spiritual prostitution and adultery.

(2:1-3) God reminds Israel of the “honeymoon phase” in the Exodus. God provided miraculously in the desert, and Israel had a covenant relationship with God—compared to a marriage. Israel is compared to the “first fruits,” because this was the first nation to follow God.

(2:4-5) This rhetorical question would get Israel to realize that they were responsible for the broken relationship—not God. The play on words refers to idolatry (“walked after emptiness and became empty”). We are what we worship.

(2:6-7) The problem with Israel was their “long-term memory loss.” Like Christians today, they forgot about all of the incredible blessings that God had given them.

(2:8) The priests, rulers, and prophets had all misled the people. They were even more culpable.

(2:9) “Contend” (rîḇ) is a legal term.^[22] God is bringing legal charges against Israel.

(2:10-12) Even pagans stayed faithful to their false gods, but Israel was unfaithful to the true God. God calls on the “heavens” as a witness in the courtroom (cf. Isa. 1:2).

(2:13) God is the fountain of life (cf. Ps. 36:9; Jn. 4:10-14; 7:37-38). Feinberg comments, “Water was a rare luxury in Palestine, and water from perennial sources was cherished. On the other hand, cisterns, though needed and used because of seasons of insufficient supply, could only store rain water. The thousands of them uncovered in archaeological digs attest their importance. At best, cisterns often yielded stagnant water; at worst, they cracked and allowed the water to seep out.”^[23]

(2:14) Israel was God’s glorious bride (v.2), but they had become a slave.

(2:15) The “young lions” refer to Assyria. The symbol of this nation was the lion.^[24]

(2:16) Egypt was supposed to be an ally of Israel, but the Egyptians turned on Israel (1 Kin. 14:25-28). Israel turned from God to national superpowers that surrounded them. They were trying to answer a spiritual problem with political solutions.

(2:17-19) Instead of turning to God for help, they turned to godless nations like Egypt and Assyria.

(2:20) God had freed Israel from the slavery of Egypt, but then, Israel refused to serve God. Canaanite worship involved meeting on “high places” under trees, and it also involved sexual acts to get the gods to bring fertile crops.^[25]

(2:21) Again, the problem was not with God’s planting of Israel (cf. Isa. 5:1-7; Hos. 10:1). They were not a “bad seed,” but they became a “bad vine.”

(2:22-25) The people were trying to clean the “outside of the cup,” rather than the inside. Feinberg comments, “Outer cleanliness could not hide the people’s inner defilement. No amount of outward reform could please God.”^[26] Wild animals (e.g. camels and donkeys) sniff the air to find a partner in heat. Similarly, Israel is compared to an animal who was looking for idols.

(2:26-28) The people had turned from God to trust in idols. Now that disaster had struck, they turned to their idols for help. But they were met with silence.

(2:29-31) Israel still thinks that she has a legal case to “contend” (rîḇ, v.9) with God. But the very prophets God had sent to help Israel were killed (2 Kin. 21:16; Jer. 26:20-23).

Concluding insights

Jeremiah is just a kid, but God turns him into a tower of bronze. Look at the contrast between his timidity in chapter 1, and his strength in chapter 2.

Jeremiah is a strong man of God because God made him this way—not because of his temperament or personality.

Are we invested enough in our ministry that we weep over people from time to time? A complete lack of emotion can show that we’re playing it safe and being detached.

Jeremiah 3 (Judah didn’t learn from Israel’s exile)

Listen to D.A. Carson’s lecture on 3:5-4:4

(3:1) The nation had committed spiritual adultery from God. The last line (“Yet you turn to Me”) can be understood as God wanting them to come back—despite their sin.^[27]

(3:2) The comparison to waiting like an “Arab in the desert” refers to women who would wait for men to sleep with (cf. Gen. 38:14, 21).^[28]

(3:3) Even though God brought discipline by withholding the rain for the crops, they persisted in idolatry.

(3:4-5) The people just came off the end of King Josiah’s great reforms in Israel (621 BC), and they must have felt that everything was fine with God. But this was mere lip service, because they continued to fall headlong into sin. Legislation did not cure the human condition.

(3:6) We see this allegory in Ezekiel 23. Judah should have learned vicariously through the judgment of the northern kingdom Israel. She was a “harlot,” which is both figurative and literal. Feinberg comments, “In Canaanite religion the main emphasis was on fertility and sex. Worship was entered into in order to insure the fertility of the land, the animals, and the people. Sacred prostitution was practiced widely. Among the sacred objects were stone altars and the sacred tree or grove.”^[29]

(3:7-8) Judah watched God give the divorce papers to Israel (v.7), but Judah didn’t learn from this.

(Jer. 3:7) Does God not know the future?

(3:9) Judah viewed their sin as excusable or “lightness.” They didn’t see the gravity of their sin.

(3:10) Judah had an outward change (under the reforms of Josiah), but not an inward repentance.

Israel is invited to repent

(3:11) After watching all of the idolatry and sin of Israel, Judah felt protected and safe. Yet God tells Judah that Israel is actually more righteous than Judah! (cf. Ezek. 23:11).

(3:12-13) Israel had been conquered for nearly a century at this point (since 722 BC), but God called on her to come back to him. The only prerequisite was to acknowledge their sin for what it was (v.13).

(3:14) The word “master” (bā ʿaltî) means “to possess.”^[30] The image is both of marriage and fatherhood, so this isn’t some sort of dictatorial imagery. The word “gracious” (ḥāsîḏ) is the adjective form of hesed (“loyal love”).

God promises to bring the people back from Exile.

(3:15) God promises to give them good leaders that will teach them his ways (“knowledge and understanding”).

(3:16) The expression “in those days” typically refers to “messianic times,” (Jer. 30:24; 31:27, 29, 31, 33, 38) according to Feinberg.^[31]

There will be no “ark of the covenant” in this future era! Feinberg states Jeremiah’s words form an “unparalleled example of boldness,”^[32] because Jewish religion centered around the ark. He adds, “That the ark would be lost and not replaced was so incredible to Jewish commentators that they have admitted great perplexity concerning Jeremiah’s prediction. One of them, Abarbanel, expressed the opinion that the promise was bad since it uprooted the whole law, and he wondered how it could be that Scripture referred to it as good.”^[33]

Yet, in the age of the Messiah, the people won’t recreate it or even miss having it. The messianic age will be so incredible that the ark will pale in comparison. The last reference to the ark of the covenant is in 2 Chronicles 35:3. Feinberg writes, “It was probably taken to Babylon in 586 BC Strangely enough, it is not mentioned among the spoils listed in 52:17-23. It was lost in 586 BC and never found or replaced.”^[34]

(3:17) The nations will come to worship God in Israel. Clearly, this hasn’t happened yet, which further confirms that this refers to the messianic age.

(3:18) After years of fracture and civil war, the northern kingdom (Israel) and the southern kingdom (Judah) will be reunited.

(3:19-20) God’s future ideal is explained (v.19), but the harsh reality of the present is also explained (v.20).

(3:21) The people wail in repentance. Is this in the future?—or in the present? The text doesn’t say.

(3:22-23) God promises to heal the people and forgive them when they repent.

(3:24-25) The “shameful thing” refers to Baal worship (Jer. 11:13). The nation will eventually accept that they have grievously sinned.

Concluding insights

We often read through the history of Israel and think, “How stupid could they be?! Haven’t they learned anything?” Yet modern history really reads the same way! People keep thinking that we just need education, conversation, and dialogue, and all will be well. These are all valuable tools for change, but they don’t solve our spiritual sickness of sin.

We should learn from the failures of history. The author of Hebrews shows that the Exodus generation failed to inherit the promise because they didn’t have faith (Heb. 3-4). Paul remembers the Exodus and connects it with the present lesson of idolatry (1 Cor. 10). Elsewhere he writes, “Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).

Jeremiah 4 (Judgment for Judah)

The previous chapter ended with the people confessing to God. However, we see that this was not true repentance in chapter 4.

(4:1-2) If they repent, God will forgive them. Apparently, they hadn’t destroyed the idols that we saw in the previous chapter.

The expression “as the LORD lives” comes from Deuteronomy 6:13. We swear, “Cross my heart and hope to die…” or “On my mother’s grave…” These people were supposed to swear by the greatest conceivable good—not by the Baals or idols.

The word “return” is used sixteen times in this small section. God doesn’t want us to return to him just because of our poor circumstances (though he will gladly take us!). He wants us to value and love him.

(4:3) Their hearts are like a hardened, uncultivated field. If farmers tried to throw seed on ground like this, it wouldn’t grow.

(4:4) Their hearts needed to be “circumcised,” as well (cf. Deut. 10:16; Rom. 2:28-29). The outward circumcision was not enough. They needed an inward change.

(4:5-6) The invaders from the “north” are the Babylonians—not the Scythians (as is often held by critical scholars).^[35]

(4:7-9) The Babylonians had “lions” as the emblem of their empire.^[36] The destruction is so certain that Jeremiah simply tells them to “lament and wail.”

(4:10) Did God deceive the people? Feinberg argues that the answer to this difficulty is in the Jewish view of causation: “God is said to do what he permits (so Streane). Scripture often omits second causes and relates all to God as the First Cause (cf. Exod 9:12; Eph 1:11; 2 Thess 2:11; particularly pertinent is 1 Kings 22:21-23).”^[37] Feinberg holds that God permitted the false prophets to teach “peace,” when in reality they would get the “sword.”

(4:11-13) The “scorching wind” refers to Babylon. The nation of Judah will be judged corporately—yet a remnant will be spared (v.27).

(4:14) Even amidst these predictions of horrible judgment, God gives them an opportunity for repentance.

(4:15-18) The city of Jerusalem will be surrounded and destroyed.

Jeremiah is in agony seeing all of this

(4:19-21) Jeremiah predicts the ruin of Israel, and it breaks his heart to see this coming.

(4:22) The people are “shrewd” (chakam) at doing evil. This word can be translated “skillful” (HALOT). It is the adjectival form of the word typically used for “wisdom” in the OT.

(4:23-26) Jeremiah’s picture is an apocalyptic reversal of Genesis 1:2. Feinberg writes, “Chaos engulfs the physical world. It is the story of Genesis 1 in reverse.”^[38]

(4:27) God will spare a remnant of faithful people.

(4:28) God is fully committed to judging the nation.

(4:29) Archaeology tells us that the Babylonians were known for their expert archers.^[39]

(4:30) Judah’s love affair with the pagan nations will end in total rejection. The ones that she turned to for help will fully reject her.

(4:31) The birth of this spiritual adultery will end in a “miscarriage.”^[40]

Jeremiah 5 (Judgment by Babylon)

(5:1) This is similar to Abraham’s intercession for Sodom (Gen. 18:23ff).

(5:2) The people used the right words, but God considered it to be perjury.

(5:3) God tried various forms of discipline to get the people to change, but they only became more stubborn and hardened.

(5:4-5) Jeremiah thought that the sin resided only in the lower classes. But surely, the upper class would be better, right? Wrong! The upper classes were just as bad.

(5:6) Feinberg holds that all three animals refer to aspects of the Babylonians.^[41]

(5:7-9) Instead of asking why it is right for God to judge, Jeremiah raises the question why God should not judge people like this: their sins include idolatry and adultery. The word “trooped” (yiṯgōḏāḏû) in verse 7 can refer to the self-thrashing that was practiced in Canaanite worship (1 Kin. 18:28; Deut. 14:1).^[42] This would make sense of the blending of idolatry with adultery.

(5:10) God is ready to destroy his vineyard (cf. Isa. 5:1-7; Ezek. 17:1-6). This will not be a complete destruction—only the pruning of the “fruit” on the branches.

(5:11-12) By denying the intervention of God (in either blessing or judgment), the people were acting like “practical atheists.”^[43]

(5:13) This is clever wordplay: the word “wind” (rûaḥ) is the same word for “spirit.” Instead of viewing the prophets as speaking from the “Holy Spirit,” the people considered them to simply be “windbags,” speaking their own thoughts.

(5:14) God ups the ante. The people thought that the prophets only spoke empty “wind” (v.13), so God would turn Jeremiah’s words into “fire.”

(5:15-18) Again, this is predicting the Babylonian invasion. However, this will not be a total destruction (v.18). A remnant will be saved.

(5:19) The invasion of Babylon would result in the Exile.

(5:20-21) The people became like their idols (Ps. 115:5-6).

(5:22-25) God can control the sea itself. If even the violent and chaotic sea obeys God, then how much more should the people of Israel? The people of Israel revolted against God’s leadership—even though the sea did not. The people refused to recognize God’s provision in the rainfall that fed the crops.

(5:26-29) “Fowlers” were bird catchers—only these “fowlers” were catching and trapping human beings. Their grievous sin was injustice toward the poor.

(5:30-31) The spiritual leaders of the people (“priests” and “prophets”) had led the people into apostasy. Worse yet, the people “loved” it! This shows that God expects the average person to know their Bibles, rather than just trusting in their spiritual leaders.

Concluding insights

The central sin of the people was the fact that they didn’t listen to God’s word. They considered the benefits in their lives (or the discipline) to be chance or coincidence. Because they had rejected a biblical worldview, this led to terrible moral failings and eventually judgment.

Jeremiah 6 (Destruction of Jerusalem)

The rapid speed of images of judgment describes the alarm of how Jerusalem will be sacked and plundered by Babylon.

(6:1-3) Earlier, Jeremiah told the people to flee to Jerusalem for safety (Jer. 4:5-6). Now, Jerusalem itself is under siege. Since Jerusalem was settled by the Benjamites (1 Chron. 9:3), this is why “Benjamin” is specifically warned. Moreover, Jeremiah himself came from the tribe of Benjamin.

“Tekoa” was twelve miles south of Jerusalem, and it was the home of Amos (Amos 1:1). The people are supposed to flee to the south, because the Babylonians were coming “from the north.”

(6:4-5) This is the Babylonians speaking about their impending attack. The word “prepare” is literally “sanctify.”^[44] Jerusalem itself would be a sacrificial offering.

(6:6-8) The text makes it sound like God himself is ordering the Babylonians, as their General. Jerusalem is not being capriciously judged, but judged for her sin.

(6:9) Israel is again viewed as a “vine” (Jer. 5:10). The judgment would be thorough—like a vineyard owner going back through the vines to search for lost grapes.

(6:10) The word “closed” (ʿārlāh) is literally “uncircumcised” (cf. Jer. 4:4).^[45]

(6:11) All ages of people would be judged for their sin.

(6:12) Because they were greedy, adulterers, God would give away their material possessions and their wives to others in judgment.

(6:13) The priests and the prophets should have been the best people in the culture, but they were also judged for their lying.

(6:14) The priests and prophets tried to but a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. They kept telling people that there would be no judgment, and this was their great sin.

(6:15) Because of the poor leadership, the people fell into even greater apostasy.

(6:16) The picture is a fork in the road: One way leads to life (cf. Mt. 11:28-29), while the other leads to death.

(6:17) The “watchmen” were supposed to warn people of incoming military threats (cf. Ezek. 3:17; 33:7). But the people refused to listen to the warnings of impending judgment.

(6:18-20) God wants the Gentile “nations” to watch and learn from this judgment. The people offered “frankincense” and “sweet cane” as offerings (Ex. 30:23). But again, these offerings were meaningless without a heart change. There is nothing wrong with ceremonial sacrifices. The problem is giving sacrifices without a heart oriented toward God (cf. Isa 1:11-13; Jer. 7:21-23; Hos. 6:6; Amos 5:21-27; Mic. 6:6-8). Feinberg notes, “Jeremiah’s statement is all the more remarkable since he was a priest by birth.”^[46]

(Jer. 6:20) Do good deeds replace the need for Temple sacrifices?

(6:21) The “stumbling blocks” do not refer to God deceiving the people. They refer to Babylon’s judgment.^[47]

(6:22-23) Again, the invaders from the “north” were the Babylonians. Feinberg writes, “To burn prisoners in a furnace (Jer. 29:22; Dan. 3:11), impale them, and flay them alive were common occurrences in Babylonian wars.”^[48]

(6:24-26) The Babylonians will be so powerful that the Jewish people will freeze in fear. All they can do is mourn—not defend themselves.

(6:27-30) Ancient metallurgists would heat up precious metals in order to skim away the dross. Jeremiah depicts the entire nation as impure dross! There is nothing precious in them anymore.

Jeremiah 7 (The Temple won’t save you!)

Jeremiah 7-10 is often called the “Temple Address.” Jeremiah delivered this talk at the gate of the Temple for all to hear (v.2). Jeremiah 26 explains the fallout that happened after this talk (in ~609-605 BC).^[49] This message was so offensive that he was banned from the Temple (Jer. 36:5).

(7:1-3) Jeremiah stood at the “gate” which was the “one that connected the outer and inner courts.”^[50] Instead of trusting in Temple worship, Jeremiah told the people to repent of their evil.

(7:4) The historical context was after the reforms of Josiah (621 BC), so people must have thought that Temple-worship was the key to God’s protection (cf. 1 Sam. 4:3). This is a threefold repetition that showed that the people really, really, really trusted in the Temple to save them (compare with Isa. 6:3). Jeremiah flatly called this concept to be “deceptive words,” given by false prophets.

(7:5-7) Jeremiah describes the more important sins in the community. How could the people “worship” God at the Temple, while they were oppressing the poor, committing murder, and engaging in idolatry?

(7:8-10) They were breaking five out of the Ten Commandments, and then, they expected forgiveness for sacrificing animals.

(7:11) Isaiah (Isa. 56:7) and Jesus (Mt. 21:13; Mk. 11:17; Lk. 19:46) both picked up on this theme.

(7:12) Shiloh was on the way from Jerusalem to Shechem—about 12 miles north of Jerusalem. This was the place where Israel fell into idolatry, and the Ark was taken from them by the Philistines (1 Sam. 4). It was destroyed by the Philistines in 1050 BC.^[51]

(7:13-15) God promised to destroy the Temple—an “unheard of heresy”^[52] to the people.

(Jer. 7:16) Why would God tell Jeremiah NOT to pray for Israel?

(7:18) The “Queen of Heaven” probably refers to Ishtar—the Assyro-Babylonian fertility goddess.^[53]

(7:19-20) All sin is against God. But God cares for our well-being. Worshipping idols results in self-harm.

(7:21) Jeremiah uses irony here: “You might as well eat the offerings, rather than waste them on God!”

(7:22) This does not deny the sacrificial system as coming from God. After all, Jeremiah mentions these in his own book (Jer. 6:20; 7:21; 14:12; and 17:26; 33:18). Feinberg comments, “The idiom does not intend to deny the statement but only to set it in a secondary place… sacrifices were always meant to be of secondary importance to obedience and godliness.”^[54] “Concerning burnt offerings” can also be translated “for the sake of burn offerings.”^[55]

(7:23-26) God had originally spoken of obedience to the covenant (Ex. 19:3-6). The Ten Commandments make no mention of sacrifices.

(7:27-28) God told Jeremiah that the people wouldn’t listen (Isa. 6:9-10).

(7:29) The command to “cut off your hair” alludes to the Nazarite Vow (Judg. 6:5), and becoming ceremonially unclean.^[56]

(7:30-32) “Topheth” was on the southern part of the Valley of Hinnom. The meaning of the word is uncertain, but it could mean “fireplace” or “shame.”^[57] Ahab and Manasseh had set up these child sacrifices (2 Kin. 16:3; 21:6), and Josiah had abolished them (2 Kin. 23:10). Jesus referred to this place as “Gehenna,” which he used as an illustration of hell (Mt. 5:22).

Of course, God strongly prohibited child sacrifice (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5), which makes sense of the statement, “I did not command, and it did not come into My mind.”

(7:33-34) Not being buried and becoming “bird food” was considered disgraceful and a clear sign of shame (Deut. 28:26; Isa. 18:6).

Concluding insights

The people trusted in ritualism, rather than obedience. This is a picture of modern church culture today. Many Christians follow the rituals and forms, but their hearts are very far from God.

God is not the author of evil. We read, “I called you but you did not answer” (v.13) and that child sacrifices were not the decree of God (v.31).

Jeremiah 8 (Jeremiah’s heart breaks—even as he announces judgment)

(8:1-2) “At that time” shows that this is a continuation of Jeremiah’s speech from chapter 7.

Leaving the bones unburied was an act of disgrace (cf. Amos 2:1).^[58] Note that these unburied bodies are compared to “dung” on the face of the Earth. It’s also possible that this predicts grave robbers who left the bones out of their tombs and ossuaries.

The people will lay dead under their lifeless gods (i.e. “sun” and “moon”). This shows the worthlessness of idolatry.

(8:3) If the reader thinks that verses 1-2 are bad, this is actually better than being alive, because of the onslaught that will be coming on the people from Babylon.

(8:4-5) Repentance was in their ability and capability, but they refused to do so. God compares their repentance to merely getting up after a fall.

(8:6-7) These birds returned to Israel every spring by instinct. These subhuman creatures could follow God’s design for them better than his own people. We might compare this to a dog that knows how to be potty trained, while a 30 year old man still defecates in his pants!

(8:8) Just like trusting in the Temple (Jer. 7), the people now trusted in merely possessing the Law, rather than obeying it (cf. Rom. 2:17-23). The religious leaders had twisted God’s word so much that it wasn’t faithful to the Author’s intent.

(8:9) There is no wisdom when we reject God’s word (Prov. 1:7).

(8:10-12) This repeats what he said in Jeremiah 6:12-15. Jeremiah had no problem repeating himself to break through their hardened hearts.

(8:13) God will take away the gifts that he gave them.

(8:14-15) The people had believed that God would not judge them for their sins. They expected “peace.” What a horrific tragedy to discover that all of these religious teachers were wrong! This shows that each person is responsible to read the Bible for themselves—not to blindly trust in religious leaders.

(8:16-17) Jeremiah already predicted that the invaders would come from the north. “Dan” is in the north of Israel, so they would be one of the first to fall. Jeremiah compares Babylonian to a stampede of horses or a brood of poisonous snakes that cannot be charmed.

(8:18) Jeremiah’s heart breaks for his people!

(8:19-20) The “King” refers to God himself. The people thought that having God as their King would save them. But the real issue was trusting God and following his covenant.

(8:20) This is metaphorical for the fact that the nation was beyond hope: judgment was coming.^[59]

(8:21) Again (cf. v.18), Jeremiah’s heart breaks for the people. He wasn’t a hell-fire preacher. He spoke these words with tears in his eyes.

(8:22) “Gilead” was a “mountainous region of Palestine east of Jordan and north of Moab.”^[60] It was not far from Jerusalem. Why then did the people not seek this out? The healing was within their reach, but they didn’t take it. This is metaphorical for the people not turning to God in repentance, and it has become a proverbial statement to this day.

Jeremiah 9 (Circumcision won’t save you!)

(9:1) This verse fits a lot better with the end of chapter 8. Jeremiah openly weeps at the judgment that the people will face (cf. Rom. 9:3-5; 10:1; Mt. 23:37).

(9:2) Why is Jeremiah weeping? Is he sad or angry with God? Not at all. He’s sad and angry with the “adulterers” and “treacherous men.”

(9:3) The reason for all of these sins stemmed from the fact that “they do not know Me.”

(9:4-5) The people weren’t just split vertically (with God) but also horizontally (with each other). Their distrust of God (v.3) led to distrust of each other (vv.4-5).

(9:6) Their problem wasn’t merely intellectual. They “refused” to know God.

(9:7) The “refinement” refers to purging—not extermination.^[61]

(9:8-9) God takes a strong stance on truth. Lying is a sin that is so serious that it warrants judgment.

(9:10-11) Jeremiah predicts Jerusalem’s destruction. It will be so comprehensive that only scavenging animals will inhabit the city—not even cattle or birds.

(9:12-16) God had promised to bring exile to the people if they refused to follow his covenant (Lev. 26:33; Deut. 28:64). So in a sense, none of this would have been a surprise. Yet even the “wise men” couldn’t seem to figure this out.

(9:17-18) In ancient Jewish culture (as well as Roman and Greek culture), families would hire professional “wailing women” for their funerals. If people stopped mourning, these women would openly cry to encourage others to mourn.^[62] This imagery shows that the destruction of Jerusalem would be a funeral.

(9:19-21) These “wailing women” would be in such high demand at this time that they would need to teach others their trade.

(9:22) Feinberg writes, “Here we see Death as the Grim Reaper. The custom was for a reaper to hold in his arm what a few strokes of his sickle had cut. Then he put it down, and behind him another laborer then gathered it into bundles and bound it into a sheaf. So death was to cover the ground with corpses, but the carcasses would lie there unburied because of the paucity of survivors and the great number of dead.”^[63]

(9:23-24) The wisdom of the world boasts in its own intellect, power, and money. Yet none of these things could save the people. Only boasting in knowing God would save them. Paul quotes this passage to admonish the Corinthians of trusting in similar worldly wisdom (1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17).

(Jer. 9:24) Why does Paul quote this passage in 1 Corinthians 1:31?

(9:25-26) These other nations (“Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab”) also practiced circumcision,^[64] but clearly they were not following God. Similarly, the Jewish people could not hold to their circumcision to save them.

Concluding insights

The people trusted in all of the wrong things. They trusted in their religious rituals (circumcision), and they trusted in their worldly wisdom (intellect, power, money). Neither could save them.

Jeremiah 10 (Apologetic against Idolatry)

Idolatry was the cultural norm in Jeremiah’s day. In this chapter, he gives an extended polemic that utterly thrashes this perspective, which is similar to Isaiah’s viewpoint (Isa. 40:18-20; 41:7; 44:9-20; 46:5-7). Feinberg calls this a “sarcastic polemic against idol worship.”^[65]

This sets up for the second half of the chapter (vv.17-25), which explains why God is going to judge the nation so harshly for idolatry.

(10:1-2) This could refer to astrology in general. In Feinberg’s view, it refers to “unusual phenomena like eclipses, comets, and meteors, which were supposed to portend extraordinary events.”^[66] These phenomena were signs that would “terrify” the astrologers. Jeremiah tells them just the opposite: “Do not be terrified by the signs of the nations.” Instead, the people should fear God (v.7).

(10:3) “Delusion” is literally a “breath” without substance.^[67]

(10:4) The fact that the idol needs to be nailed into place shows that it will topple over if it is left to itself. This shows that the idol is totally inept without humans holding it up.

(10:5) “Scarecrows” cannot actually do anything. Only birds are scared of them, but only because they don’t know better. Similarly, idol worshippers are scared of their idols—only because they don’t know better.

(10:6) God is fundamentally different from the “gods” of idolatry. He actually has power and “might,” whereas the idols are impotent.

(10:7) Idols were local deities, but God is the “King of the nations.”

(10:8) It is “foolish” to worship an idol, because it is just a piece of wood.

(10:9) “Tarshish” is likely southern Spain or Sardinia.^[68] “Uphaz” is not known, but Daniel mentions the gold made there (Dan. 10:5).

Even though the idols were made with costly materials, they were still created by humans.

(10:10) God is “true,” while the idols are false. God is “living,” while the idols are dead. God is “everlasting,” while the idols are temporary.

(10:11) This is the only verse in Jeremiah that is written in Aramaic.^[69] Critics claim that this was an interpolation or gloss. However, Feinberg holds that this was written in Aramaic so that the idol worshippers could read about the destruction of their idols for themselves. He writes, “All the versions [manuscripts] have it. Furthermore, it fits the context splendidly. No one has ever explained why an interpolator would introduce it here. It was a proverbial saying; so it was given in the language of the people (so Streane). The best explanation appears to be that it is in Aramaic so that the exiles could use these very words as a reply to solicitations by the Chaldeans to join in their idol worship.”^[70]

(10:12-16) This section reappears in Jeremiah 51:15-19. God is the Creator—not the idols (v.12). God brings rain for the crops—not the idols (v.13). Idols are lifeless and cannot do any of these things (v.14). Therefore, it is utterly foolish to worship them, rather than the true God. God will live forever—not the idols (v.15). Again, God is the Cosmic Creator—not the idols (v.16).

Judgment for idolatry

(10:17-18) Judgment is imminent. Jeremiah tells the people grab what they can and run!

(10:19-22) The leadership (“shepherds”) are specifically blamed for this Exile (v.21). As we have already seen, the nation from the “north” is Babylon.

(10:23) They needed God to guide their way (cf. Ps. 37:23; Prov. 16:9; 20:24).

(10:24-25) Jeremiah doesn’t pray for the nation to be spared (which would be outside of God’s will at this point). Instead, he prays that “justice” would be done. The nations wanted to overdo the judgment and utterly annihilate Israel. Jeremiah prays that the nations would be restrained and themselves destroyed. About a century later, Babylon was overthrown by the Media-Persians. His prayer was answered.

Jeremiah 11 (Plot on Jeremiah’s life)

This section of Jeremiah switches from poetry to prose, describing his own life (chs. 11-20). It begins to describe the life of Jeremiah himself. Chapters 11 and 12 form one unit. Though it is difficult to date this section,^[71] it’s likely that it dates to Josiah’s reign, after the rediscovery of the Law (2 Kin. 23; v.6).

Listen to D.A. Carson’s lecture on 11-15 here

(11:1-3) God addresses the prophets who speak to the people (v.2). God is bringing them back to the terms of the Mosaic Covenant (v.3).

(11:4-5) The “iron furnace” refers to the slavery of Egypt (Deut. 4:20). The land “flowing with milk and honey” is only used in a few places outside of the Pentateuch (Jer. 32:22; Ezek. 20:6, 15).

(11:6-8) God commands Jeremiah to tell the people how they have failed the covenant.

(11:9-10) Outwardly, the people agreed to Josiah’s reforms. Inwardly, however, they had a “secret resistance to Josiah’s policy of reform.”^[72]

(11:11-13) The people have turned to idolatry to save them, but these were impotent to save them.

(Jer. 11:14) Why would God tell Jeremiah NOT to pray for Israel?

(11:15) The people were “rejoicing” because they thought that their outward sacrifices would appease God.

(11:16-17) “Olive trees” were popular in Israel. This serves as an illustration to describe how their Baalism has brought judgment.

Plot on Jeremiah’s life

(11:18) Jeremiah was surprised that the people had hatched a plot against his life. He was innocent (“I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter”), and God had to reveal the plot to protect him. Feinberg writes, “Rejecting God and his message, the nation was not afraid to reject his messenger.”^[73]

(11:19) The people would wipe out his memory because he was unmarried (Jer. 16:2), and therefore, he had no offspring to carry on his name.

(11:20) Jeremiah prays for God to deal with the people righteously and judicially.

(11:21) The priests of Anathoth were the ones who were attacking Jeremiah—probably because he was attacking their phony religious rituals.

(11:22-23) The “remnant” does not refer to all of these people—only the perpetrators. Feinberg writes, “The threat of no remnant (v.23) must be understood only of Jeremiah’s enemies, for according to Ezra 2:23 some men of Anathoth returned to postexilic Judah.”^[74]

Concluding insights

Jeremiah was the only preacher telling the truth at the time. It must have taken incredible courage to stand up to the cultural zeitgeist that was ruining Israel.

God not only called and commissioned Jeremiah to preach, but he also protected him to do his work.

Jeremiah 12 (Jeremiah’s complaint and God’s response)

(12:1) Jeremiah wouldn’t even have this objection unless he had the conviction that God was “righteous.” If there is no standard of righteousness that transcends humanity, then we have no one to raise an objection to.

(12:2) God has given universal grace to all people (Mt. 5:45; Lk. 6:35). Yet Jeremiah wonders why God would allow them to flourish if he is just.

(12:3) This statement from Jeremiah sounds self-righteous. But note that Jeremiah is not basing his righteousness off of self-examination. Instead, he asks God to examine him. Then, on this basis, he prays that God would bring judgment on the wicked.

(12:4) The people seem to be mocking Jeremiah’s predictions of judgment, living in a “practical atheism.”^[75]

God’s response

(12:5) God doesn’t sugarcoat Jeremiah’s suffering or what he will suffer in the future. God uses an a fortiori argument (“If _____, then how much more _____?”). Jeremiah had already been through suffering with the men from Ananoth, but God warns and exhorts him about the suffering to come.

(12:6) The threefold use of “even” shows how much of a betrayal it will be for Jeremiah to be rejected by his family.

(12:7-8) God continues to speak about the situation with his people. Scholars generally agree that the background for this statement is the revolt of Jehoiakim against Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:1-2). While God uses strong language to describe his judgment (“hate”), he also uses strong language to describe his love (“I have given the beloved of My soul”).

(12:9) The answer to this question must be answered affirmatively.^[76] The “speckled birds” are abnormal in avian life, and therefore, they are easily destroyed by competitors or predators.^[77]

(12:10-13) God describes the nation as a fruitless tree and a fruitless field.

(12:14) Remember, God called Jeremiah to speak to the nations—not just Israel and Judah (Jer. 1:10). We see Jeremiah doing so here. God is answering Jeremiah’s initial question about the prosperity of the evil nations. God tells him that he will judge them if they are unrepentant, but he will forgive them if they are repentant.

(12:15-17) We agree with Feinberg that this must refer to the Millennial Kingdom.^[78] The nations have an opportunity to repent and turn to God. This wouldn’t fit with the New Heavens and Earth, but it would fit with the Millennial Kingdom.

Jeremiah 13 (Hope and despair)

This prophecy has been dated sometime between 605 BC (after the Battle of Carchemish) to 597 BC.^[79]

Prophetic drama: bury a loincloth and uncover it

(13:1-7) God tells Jeremiah to take a linen undergarment to the Euphrates River, bury it, and come back and find it rotted.

Was this a metaphorical vision? Those who hold to the metaphorical view (Calvin) cannot believe that Jeremiah would walk hundreds of miles to the Euphrates River.

Was this a literal action? We hold to a literal interpretation, which is based on a number of arguments. First, the language supports a literal view—not a vision. Second, Jeremiah was away from Jerusalem for some time, and this could explain why Nebuchadnezzar was so kind to him (Jer. 39:11-12). Third, it’s possible that “Perath” in verse 4 refers to the Euphrates River or to “Eprata”—Bethlehem’s original name, which was only six miles south of Jerusalem (cf. Josh. 18:23).^[80] While not dogmatic, Feinberg^[81] holds to the literal view.

Why linen? It likely symbolized Israel’s purity as a nation of priests (Ex. 19:6), and it would easily rot.

Why the Euphrates? If the Euphrates River is in view, then this could show how the nation of Judah was negatively influenced by the Mesopotamians (2 Kin. 21).

Explanation

(13:8-11) Instead of clinging close with God, the people had buried themselves in the rocks of the river. This shows the corrupting nature of idolatry.

The Wine of God’s Wrath

(13:12-14) Jeremiah uses the imagery of jugs being filled with wine. He tells the people that God is going to fill them with wine (i.e. confusion, desperation, etc.). God will judge the people for their idolatry.

The specific mention of David’s throne alludes to the fact that the people had moved far from David’s loyalty to God.

A call to turn

(13:15-16) Jeremiah calls out the pride of the people, and gives them an opportunity to change their mind and turn back.

(13:17) Since Jeremiah is speaking for God (v.12), this means that God’s heart is broken for his people. The language of bitter weeping is evocative language: God is bearing his soul in grief.

The exile is predicted

(13:18) The “king” and the “queen mother” likely refer to King Jehoiachin and his mother, Queen Nehushta.^[82] Jeremiah addresses both of them, because Jehoiachin was only 18 years old when he became king, so his mother probably influenced him considerably. Both of them were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC (2 Kin. 24:8, 12, 15), so they didn’t listen to this warning.

(13:19) The “Negev” was in the barren area of the south. Anyone who would conquer these cities would show that he had conquered “all Judah.”

(13:20-21) The nation had tried to make alliances with both Egypt and Babylon (Jer. 4:30). But these “companions” would ultimately rule them.

(13:22) The nation will be treated like a prostitute or an adulteress—being publicly shamed.

(13:23) Feinberg holds that this refers to the enslaving nature of sin. He writes, “Jeremiah is speaking of the force of habit, not denying freedom of choice (cf. John 8:34).”^[83]

(13:24-27) Jeremiah appeals to an agrarian metaphor: winnowing. The people would be thrown up like chaff and carried along by the wind to destruction and judgment.

Concluding insights

When we fall into idolatry, we harm ourselves. The language of clinging close to God like a linen garment shows the intimacy that God wants with us—whereas idolatry wants to leave us alone and naked to rot (vv.1-11).

We can reach a point where we become so intoxicated with sin, that we become enslaved to it (vv.12-14).

God’s judgment is scary in this chapter. But his message of repentance, sorrow, and love also come through just as powerfully.

Jeremiah 14-15 (When God stops listening to prayer)

These two chapters hang together in a unit. Jeremiah’s pray for the people sounds a lot like Moses’ prayer when the people worshipped the Golden Calf (Ex. 32:11-14). But God concludes by saying that he wouldn’t answer this prayer even if Moses was standing there (Jer. 15:1).

(14:1) The word “drought” (baṣṣārôṯ) is in the plural form. This should not be translated droughts; rather, this was a way for the Hebrew language to describe intensity.^[84] In other words, the drought was really bad.

Other nations (e.g. Mesopotamia and Egypt) could access irrigation to water their crops, but Israel depended on “the seasonal rainfall.”^[85]

(14:2-4) Everyone from the rich to the poor (to the animals!) feels the effects of the drought.

(14:5-6) Even animals are suffering for the sin of the people of Israel.

(14:7) We aren’t sure if this is Jeremiah speaking on behalf of the people, or if the people themselves are confessing. We are inclined to think that this is Jeremiah interceding on behalf of the people (cf. Dan. 9:4-19). This makes sense of why God would not change his mind if even Moses or Samuel interceded (Jer. 15:1), and why God tells Jeremiah to not pray for the people (Jer. 14:11).

Notice key aspects of this confession: (1) Jeremiah twice makes an open admission of fault; (2) God should act based on his character and reputation; (3) the sin of the people was directly against God.

(14:8-9) Jeremiah asks why God is not intervening on their behalf.

(14:10-12) God doesn’t receive Jeremiah’s intercession. While Jeremiah was admitting fault on behalf of the people and himself, the people themselves were turning to ritual sacrifices—not repentance (v.12).

(Jer. 14:11) Why would God tell Jeremiah NOT to pray for Israel?

(14:13) Jeremiah spoke more about false prophets than any other prophet.^[86] These men must have been very popular in Jeremiah’s day, contradicting his message of repentance and judgment.

(14:14-16) God gave the people two criteria for discerning false prophets: (1) conforming to prior biblical teaching and (2) accurate short-term prophecies. These false prophets failed both tests. The people could discern the false prophets by the fact that they were preaching “divination” (criterion #1; cf. Deut. 13:1-5), and their short-term prophecies would be unfulfilled (criterion #2; cf. Deut. 18:20-22).

(14:17-18) God’s judgment is not dispassionate. He will judge with tears in his eyes.

(14:19-22) The focus of the prayer is on (1) admission of guilty, (2) God’s reputation, (3) the temple, (4) God’s covenant, and (5) a rejection of idolatry.

(15:1) Moses and Samuel were key examples of men known for interceding in prayer for nation of Israel (Ex. 32:11-14, 30-34; Num. 14:13-23; Deut. 9:18-20, 25-29; 1 Sam. 7:5-9; 12:19-25; cf. Ps. 99:6-8). God does not always respond to our intercessions; otherwise, he wouldn’t be God; he would be our slave.

(15:2-4) God seems to be saying that nothing will stop them from facing their impending judgment. When God decides to judge, he is going to follow through with it.

(15:5-7) God will send them into Exile, and no one will be there to mourn over them. Again, Jeremiah uses the imagery of threshing the chaff into judgment. The imagery doesn’t appear to be the separating of the wheat from the chaff, but simply what happens to the chaff itself: it floats away with the wind and into judgment.

(15:8-9) Feinberg holds that the “mothers” are figurative of Jerusalem.^[87] Regardless, the point of the imagery is to show that a mother thought she was secure with her “seven sons.” But the mother’s security is taken away from her in an instant.

(15:10-11) It must have been overwhelming for Jeremiah to preach these words against the nation he loved. Feinberg comments, “Passages such as this show that the prophets were not supermen but fully human, neither impassive nor automata.”^[88]

(15:12-14) The question of verse 12 demands a negative answer. The point is that Judah will not survive the conquest of Babylon.

(15:15-16) Jeremiah asks God to spare him in this judgment, and instead, to destroy his enemies.

(15:17-18) Jeremiah asks God why his pain is so immense, when God promised to strengthen him (cf. Jer. 1:18-19).

(15:19) God doesn’t vindicate his actions. Instead, he tells Jeremiah to stay the course. Feinberg comments, “He must lift his people and not let them drag him down to their level.”^[89]

(15:20-21) If Jeremiah continues to persevere in faith, then God promises to follow through on his word to strengthen him like a “fortified wall of bronze” (cf. Jer. 1:18-19). This is the final time that Jeremiah complained to God like this.^[90]

Concluding insights

Why doesn’t God answer their prayer? We are not entirely sure, but we can think of a few possible solutions. First, Jeremiah could be speaking on behalf of the people, rather than the people praying for themselves. God could still be giving judgment to the people for their unrepentance. Second, the people could be saying these words, but not actually meaning them. Instead of changing and turning to God, they were merely saying “the magic words.” God could see through this and realize that his was phony religiosity.

Sometimes, God says, “No.” God will permit suffering to come into our lives, or he will bring discipline into our lives. We are free to pray to God during these times, but we should ultimately pray alongside Jesus, “Not my will, but your will be done.”

God can transform us into a “fortified wall of bronze,” but this requires following him—not people. In reference to the Babylonians, God asked, “Can anyone smash iron, iron from the north, or bronze?” Here God promised to make Jeremiah into a “fortified wall of bronze” that could withstand anything (Jer. 15:20). But this required Jeremiah to love and value God more than the opinion of people.

Jeremiah 16 (Jeremiah cannot get married or have a family, because judgment is coming)

(16:1-2) Jeremiah was already lonely—isolated from his people (Jer. 15:10) and his own family (Jer. 15:17). Now, God told this lonely man that he couldn’t marry and create a family of his own. The rest of the chapter explains why: The people would experience terrible judgment, and God didn’t want Jeremiah to bring children into a situation like this.

(16:3-4) Even the children of Israel will experience judgment.

(16:5) It is biblical to mourn (Jn. 11:35; 1 Thess. 4:12). But in this setting, the people were under the judgment of God. Therefore, if Jeremiah mourned, it would imply that God was doing something wrong, and it would send the wrong message to the people around him.

(16:6-7) “Gashing” oneself was a pagan mourning practice,^[91] which was outlawed in the Law (Lev. 19:28; 21:5; Deut. 14:1).

(16:8-9) Jeremiah couldn’t engage in parties, because judgment was imminent.

(16:10-13) When the people asked why God was going to judge them, Jeremiah would tell them that it was because of their idolatry. It’s amazing that the people could be so blind that they would even need to ask this question! Sin can have a devastating effect on the mind—what theologians call the noetic effects of sin.

(16:14-15) The promise of restoration is equated to the Exodus from Egypt. Only in this case, the people were the ones who were in grievous sin.

(16:16-17) The “fishermen” and “hunters” are God’s agents of judgment. Feinberg writes, “In the day of reckoning there will be no place to find refuge, either in the rivers and lakes or in the air.”^[92]

(16:18) The word “double” (mišneh) refers to “ample, full, complete punishment” or even “proportionate.”^[93] Isaiah writes, “She has received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins” (Isa. 40:2).

(16:19-20) Jeremiah seems to flash forward to the eventual gathering of the Gentile nations. These Gentiles realize that their “gods” are false. Feinberg writes, “Without doubt the picture is messianic.”^[94]

(16:21) All people—both Jewish and Gentile—will recognize who God is at this time.

Jeremiah 17 (Israel is sick, and they should return to the Sabbath)

(17:1) This language means that Judah’s sin is permanently marked on them.^[95] The “horns of their altars” might refer to Baal worship.^[96]

(17:2) The people longed for their idols the way that they longed for their children (!). The “Asherim” were large poles that accompanied Baal worship. These were denounced in the Law (Deut. 16:21).

(17:3-4) The “mountain” likely refers to Zion or Jerusalem. God promises to judge them.

(17:5-6) In this context, “trusting in man” refers to the political alliances that Judah engaged in, rather than trusting in God for protection. These people will dry up like a bush in the desert.

(17:7-8) By contrast (with vv.5-6), the one who trusts in God will be nourished by him (cf. Ps. 1:3).

(17:9) The human “heart” refers to the human mind and will: “In OT usage the heart signifies the total inner being and includes reason. From the heart come action and will.”^[97] The words “desperately sick” (ʾānuš) can be translated “incurable.”^[98]

(17:10) Only God can search and cure the human heart—not us.

(17:11) The meaning here seems to be that a bird will watch over another bird’s eggs—only to lose them when the fledglings come of age. The same is true of wealth: we watch over it for a little while, only to lose it.

(17:12-13) God is the only permanent foundation. The names “written in the dust” (NIV) is in contrast to those names written in the book of life (Ex. 32:32; Lk. 10:20; Rev. 20:12; 21:27).

(17:14) Given what he wrote so far, Jeremiah knows that his only hope is in God.

(17:15) The people around him are probably taunting him as a false prophet, because his predictions had not come to fruition yet (cf. Deut. 18:22).

(17:16) Jeremiah justifies himself on the basis that he was only following God’s calling, and he didn’t want judgment. But he had to speak the truth to the people.

(17:17) Again, Jeremiah knows that his only hope is God. The “terror” of Jeremiah was not the people, but that God would abandon him.

(17:18) The people that deserve destruction are not the same ones mentioned in verse 16.

Follow the Sabbath

(17:19-22) Jeremiah had formerly spoken against pseudo-religious practices (Jer. 3:16; 7:14, 21-22; 14:12). But he wasn’t speaking against true religious practices. God wants both the rituals and the right heart attitude.

(17:23) The people refused to listen.

(17:24-27) God tells them that if they return to Sabbath obedience that this will remove their judgment. But if they continue, they will be judged throughout the land.

Jeremiah 18 (The Potter and Clay)

Chapter 18-20 are thought to be one unit, which likely dates to the beginning of Jehoiakim’s reign.^[99] Paul picks up on this imagery in Romans 9:20-21.

(18:1-3) God tells Jeremiah to watch a potter molding something out of clay at a spinning wheel.

(18:4) When potters spin clay, they might discover a defect in the clay. The problem is not with the potter (God), but with the clay (Israel). Feinberg comments, “The defects were in the clay, not the hand of the potter. The potter’s perseverance must not be overlooked at this point in this passage.”^[100]

(18:5-10) In our estimation, Feinberg takes a balanced view of this illustration, arguing that the relationship between God’s sovereignty and human freedom is mysterious. But then, he writes, “Ultimately, no man is free. But God in his mysterious working in human life has ordered it so that humanity may choose. In this passage the point is neither denial or affirmation of human freedom.”^[101] However, we contend that the illustration shows exactly how God works with free moral agents.

The purpose of the illustration of the potter is not to show that people have the same freewill as a lump of clay. This would greatly misinterpret the explanation of the illustration. After all, God tells Jeremiah, “If that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it” (v.8). The “clay” can “turn from its evil.”

The purpose of the illustration is to show that potter (God) has ultimate authority over what happens to a nation (clay). A spoiled piece of clay cannot stop the potter from remolding it, or even throwing it out. Similarly, when God judges people, we cannot thwart him.

(Jer. 18:8) Does God create evil?

How does this harmonize with Numbers 23:19, which states that God does not repent? The purpose of Numbers 23:19 is to show that God does not “like” or “repent” as people do (“like a man”). If God decides to do something, he will follow through. However, God’s decisions are not static. Feinberg explains, “With God repentance is not a change of mind but is his consistent response according to his changeless nature to the change in the nation’s conduct.”^[102]

(18:11) Based on God’s nature of forgiving repentant people, God calls on the nation of Judah to repent.

(18:12) God didn’t claim that the people were fated to die. The people themselves claimed fatalism.

(18:13) Even the Gentile nations could see that Israel was sinful, which is quite an indictment on them.

(18:14) The point here seems to be that nature is more stable than the decisions of the Jewish people.^[103]

(18:15) The “ancient paths” (v.15) refers to God’s old promises and covenant (Jer. 6:16).

(18:16) The “hissing” will be out of astonishment that the people of Judah could be so sinful and foolish to lose God’s blessing.

(18:17) God’s “face” refers to his blessing (cf. Num. 6:24-26). God will turn his “back” on the people, because that is what the people did to God (Jer. 2:27).

The people create a plot to kill Jeremiah

(18:18) The people accused Jeremiah of treason. After all, the rest of the priests, prophets, and sages all disagreed with Jeremiah. Therefore, they argued, Jeremiah must be a false prophet.

(18:19-20) Jeremiah doesn’t defend himself. Instead, he turns to God for his protection. This is the very thing that the people of Judah should have done with their enemies.

(18:21-23) In context, this prayer of judgment was “not leveled against the entire nation but only against Jeremiah’s enemies.”^[104] Jeremiah wasn’t taking matters into his own hands, but instead, he was trusting God to judge these people fairly (see “What about the Cursings in the Psalms?”).

Jeremiah 19 (The Broken Clay Jar)

The “clay” in chapter 18 was wet, so it could be remade molded. However, the “clay” in this chapter had hardened, and it needed to be broken.

(19:1) The leaders of the people watched this object lesson, because they were primarily responsible for Judah’s apostasy and could understand the meaning of Jeremiah’s act.

(19:2) The “valley of Ben-hinnom” was a place of child sacrifice before Josiah’s reforms, turning it into a garbage dump (2 Kin. 23:10). This is the root word for the NT term “Gehenna,” which is used to describe hell. “Gehenna” comes from the word “Ge” (valley of) and “henna” (Hinnom).^[105]

(19:3-5) The expression (“everyone that hears of it will tingle”) refers to oncoming judgment (1 Sam. 3:11; 2 Kin. 21:12). Jeremiah took them to this place—almost like taking a Nazi to the Holocaust Museum. He was showing them how indisputably bad their idolatry had become.

Clearly, God does not cause evil to happen (“a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind”).

(19:6) “Topeth” was another name for this place (cf. Jer. 7:32). God would rename this place “the valley of Slaughter.”

(19:7) The word “void” (bāqaq) was a play on words with the term “jar” (baqbuq) from verse 1. God would “pour out” their plans and give them judgment. Jeremiah may have poured out the water from the jar that he was holding to symbolize this.

(19:8-9) God will bring total destruction on the people. The disease and death would be so bad that the people would turn to cannibalism.

(19:10-13) Jeremiah broke the clay jar to show how the nation would be broken. Feinberg comments, “In the Near East, it is still the practice to break a jar near a person who has done wrong to one and voice the hope that he will be similarly broken.”^[106] The nation would become “like Topheth!”

(19:14-15) The switch to the third person perspective might be explained by Baruch writing this section.^[107] At the same time, ancient authors would often write about themselves in the third person (see comments on Exodus 6:26-27).

Jeremiah 20 (Jeremiah is beaten and imprisoned)

(20:1) “Pashur” held some executive title among the priests (“chief officer in the house of the LORD”). This is not the same “Pashur” mentioned in Jeremiah 21:1 or Jeremiah 38:1 (cf. 1 Chron. 9:12). We know this because another man had taken his spot in Jeremiah 29:25-26. Pashur must’ve been deported already when Jeremiah 29 takes place.

(20:2) Pashur may have had Jeremiah beaten with the 39 stripes (Deut. 25:3). The iron stocks “held the feet, hands, and neck so that the body was almost doubled up.”^[108]

To add insult to injury, Pashur placed Jeremiah at the “upper Benjamin Gate,” which was out in the full view of the people.^[109] This would’ve been public embarrassment.

(20:3) Jeremiah didn’t change his message. Instead, he changed Pashur’s name to “terror on every side” (māgôr missāḇîḇ).^[110]

(20:4) Pashur would face the judgment from Babylon that he had lied about to the people.

(20:5-6) Remember, Pashur was a “priest,” not a prophet (v.1). Therefore, he had taken over this role and then abused it by contradicting God’s true prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah’s feelings

(20:7-9) This does not mean that God “deceives” people, but that he can overpower them (“overcome”). Feinberg writes, “Jeremiah is not accusing God of lying or misrepresentation; but what he calls seduction is the divine compulsion on his spirit. He is claiming that the Lord overpersuaded him to be a prophet… [Jeremiah] felt the Lord had overpersuaded him in calling him to the prophetic office when he did not realize all it involved. So he clearly speaks like a man overtaxed and overwrought.”^[111] If Jeremiah tried to refrain from prophesying, he would feel it burbling up within him (v.9). God’s call was so powerful that Jeremiah felt “overcome” to speak it (v.7).

(20:10) Jeremiah felt deeply depressed that even his “trusted friends” would wish for his demise.

Jeremiah’s prayer

(20:11-13) Even though Jeremiah’s circumstances didn’t change, he grew strong in prayer, knowing that God would have the last word.

Jeremiah’s feelings

(20:14) Commentators believe that these words could not occur immediately after Jeremiah’s prayer of praise (vv.11-13). However, this simply shows how our emotions can still be running wild—even after times of prayer. Feinberg writes, “Jeremiah’s response was normal for one caught between two inescapable contrarities: faithfulness to the message of God and love for his sinful countrymen.”^[112]

(20:15-17) Jeremiah’s wish to never be born is similar to Elijah (1 Kin. 19:1-3) and Job (Job 3:3-6). These towns are most likely Sodom and Gomorrah (v.16).^[113]

(20:18) Jeremiah couldn’t see the answer to his question. From his vantage point, he could only see suffering and judgment. Similarly, believers often question God, but we should learn that we are questioning him from a limited point of view.

Concluding insights

This chapter gives us insights into what a prophet experienced. Even though God was speaking to him, he still suffered acutely, and he still questioned God.

This chapter also shows that following God’s will can bring suffering into our lives (2 Tim. 3:12).

Prophecies during the Reigns of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah

This section (Jer. 21-39) gives specific dates for Jeremiah’s prophecies—namely, the reigns of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah (597-586 BC).

Jeremiah 21 (Zedekiah and his officials plead for Jeremiah’s intercession)

Zedekiah reigned from 597-586 BC. This prophecy dates to ~588 BC, which was during the year and a half siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (Jer. 52:1, 4-7).^[114] Feinberg writes, “Chronologically, this chapter should come between chapters 37 and 38.”^[115]

Nebuchadnezzar had ousted Jehoiachin from power and deported him in 597 BC. Then, Nebuchadnezzar installed Zedekiah as a vassal king (i.e. puppet king) to rule over Judea (2 Kin. 24:17). Feinberg writes, “Zedekiah respected Jeremiah but did not have the moral courage to do what he knew was right. He was weak and vacillating, and his reign was made all the more difficult because the Jews still considered Jehoiachin (taken captive in 597 b.c.) as their true king and looked for his early return from exile (cf. 28:4).”^[116]

(21:1-2) It’s amazing how a year and a half long siege by the world’s leading superpower (Babylon) will make you more open to the words of a true prophet!

The “Pashur” mentioned here is not the same one mentioned in Jeremiah 20:1.^[117] This man with the same name is mentioned in Jeremiah 38:1.

“Zephaniah” was second to the high priest, and Pashur and him both opposed Jeremiah’s political outlook (Jer. 29:25-26; 37:3; 52:24). Nebuchadnezzar eventually killed Zephaniah, because Zephaniah had tried to get Egypt as an ally.

Notice that none of these men issued any sort of repentance. They simply wanted Jeremiah to intercede for them and tell them of a bright future.

(21:3-4) Jeremiah doesn’t tell the leaders what they wanted to hear. Instead, he tells them that their military efforts would fail against the Babylonians.

(21:5-6) Typically, God’s “outstretched hand” was used of God fighting against Israel’s enemies—not Israel itself. God had turned to judge his own people.

(21:7) Nebuchadnezzar gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes—right before he killed Zedekiah’s sons right in front of him. The last thing Zedekiah saw was his sons being killed (Jer. 34:4; 2 Kin. 25:6-7; Ezek. 12:13).

(21:8) This language of setting before them “life and death” is similar to the words spoken through Moses (Deut. 30:19). Here, it is literal death—being killed by the coming invasion.

(21:9) Jeremiah’s solution was total surrender. This is why the people considered him guilty of treason (Jer. 37:13-14). Jeremiah counseled them to flee from the “sinking ship” of Jerusalem and Judah, escaping with their lives.

(21:10) The Babylonians sieged the city to burn the city to the ground, so the only solution was to flee.

(21:11-12) These passages do not say that the people could avoid judgment from repenting and doing righteousness. Instead, they were there to soften God’s judgment of the people.

(21:13-14) Jeremiah addresses the city of Jerusalem, using the feminine gender to describe the city.^[118] The people thought they were invincible, asking, “Who will come down against us?” The answer to this question was that God would strike them down.

Concluding insights

There is a “point of no return.” The people were told that they would face the consequences of years of apostasy.

Jeremiah 22 (Evil Kings of Judah)

Most commentators date this chapter to the reign of Jehoiakim (based on verses 13-18).^[119] In this chapter, Jeremiah pronounces judgment on three of Judah’s kings: Shallum, Jehoiakim, and Jehoiachin.

(22:1-5) Jeremiah made this call for repentance directly to the king of Judah (Jehoiakim), and he made it in front of everyone in his throne room (v.2). He called on Jehoiakim to repent of evil and perform justice (v.3). The consequences were either blessing (v.4) or judgment (v.5). This does not state that God would revoke the Davidic Covenant, but simply that the current kingship would be destroyed.

(22:6-7) Solomon used choice lumber from “Lebanon” to build the Temple (1 Kings 5:6, 8-10; 7:2-5; 10:27). Jeremiah compares the Temple’s destruction to the “destruction” of the trees used to make the Temple.

(22:8-9) God’s judgment would be an object-lesson to the nations. The nations had seen God protect Judah for centuries, and now they would learn why God had destroyed the nation. God’s judgment wasn’t capricious; it was based on the people’s disobedience to the Mosaic Covenant.

KING #1. Shallum

(22:10-12) “Shallum” was King Josiah’s son, who died in exile in Egypt (2 Kin. 23:34). Instead of mourning for Josiah, Jeremiah tells the people to mourn for Shallum.

KING #2. Jehoiakim

(22:13-14) “Jehoiakim” (who is named in verse 18) was the other son of King Josiah. He was an evil king who lived in opulence, but not righteousness. He built his palace on the backs of slave labor (2 Kings 23:34-35).

(22:15-17) Jehoiakim thought he was a great king because of his building projects, rather than his character.^[120] By contrast, Josiah wasn’t obsessed with building projects, but instead, he focused on doing righteousness for the people—the sign of a true leader.

(22:18-19) While people continued to mourn over the death of Josiah, Jehoiakim’s father (2 Chron. 35:24-25), even his family wouldn’t mourn his death. The “donkey’s burial” refers to being left exposed, rather than being properly buried (Jer. 36:30).

(22:20) “Abarim” refers to the regions of Moab (cf. Num. 27:12; Deut. 32:49). The “lovers” refers to the nations whom Israel relied upon for political help.

(22:21-23) God will judge Judah and her leaders (“shepherds”).

KING #3. Jehoiachin (Coniah)

(22:24-27) Jehoiachin (“Coniah”) was the son of Jehoiakim (v.24). The “signet ring” was “very valuable because it was used to authenticate official correspondence and documents.”^[121] God compares this to Jehoiachin. Even if Jehoiachin was God’s “signet ring” (i.e. very valuable to him), God would still pull him off his hand.

Interestingly, Jehoiachin’s grandson (Zerubbabel) was reinstated as God’s “signet ring” (Hag. 2:23).

(22:28-29) The three-fold reference to the “land” was meant to be a message to the whole nation of what God was doing with Jehoiachin.

(22:30) Feinberg writes, “Matthew’s genealogy includes Jehoiachin but shows only who Jesus’ legal father was, not his natural one. Luke traces Jesus’ parental line through Nathan, a son of David, not through Solomon. Zerubbabel, grandson of Jehoiachin, though governor of Judah in 520 BC, never ruled as king, nor did any other descendant of his. Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, reigned after him but died before him (cf. 52:10-11). Jehoiachin was thus the last of the Judean kings. In him the royal line became extinct. So chapter 23 goes on to speak of the new King to be raised up by the Lord (cf. 23:5-6).”^[122]

(Jer. 22:30) How could Jesus be the Messiah if God cursed Jehoiakin’s descendants?

Jeremiah 23 (The Righteous Shepherd and Branch)

This chapter comes after Jeremiah’s blistering judgment on the kings of Judah. Here, he sees a Future King who would be unlike the others. A parallel passage is Ezekiel 34:1-6.

(23:1-2) The “shepherds” are the kings and other leaders of Judah.^[123] God condemns them for the fact that they had “scattered My flock.” Shepherds were supposed to keep the flock together—not scatter them.

(23:3-4) The Exile was literal, and so will be the regathering. This time, God himself will be the true shepherd who gathers his sheep.

This is a worldwide regathering (“out of all the countries”). Feinberg writes, “Here a world-wide dispersion is in view, not just in Assyria and Babylon… The fulfillment awaits eschatological times (cf. Matt 19:28).”^[124]

(23:5) The expression “days are coming” is a “messianic formula.”^[125] Moreover, the adjective (“righteous”) modifying the term “Branch” refers to persons—not plants.^[126] Various OT authors use this symbolism of the “Branch” to refer to the Messiah (Isa. 4:2; Jer. 33:15; Zech. 3:8; 6:12). This figure will not be like the unjust kings of Jeremiah 22.

(23:6) During this time, Israel and Judah will be reunited (cf. Ezek. 37:19).

This figure will be called “the LORD [Yahweh] our righteousness.” This figure will be called Yahweh! Critical scholars note that this same name is given to Israel as a whole (Jer. 33:16). However, this title for Israel is slightly different: “The LORD is our righteousness.” In other words, the Messiah will be Yahweh and incarnated righteousness, while the people will turn to Yahweh and say that He is their righteousness. Furthermore, Jewish commentators in the Targum render this passage: “The Messiah of the righteous” or “The Messiah of righteousness.”^[127]

(23:7-8) The coming of the Messiah is linked directly to the regathering of Israel. It is perplexing that Covenantal theologians will accept the former as a messianic prediction of Jesus, but not the latter as a literal restoration of the nation of Israel.

Judgment on the false prophets

(23:9) The heartbreak of seeing so many false prophets made Jeremiah feel “drunk” and disoriented from the pain.

(23:10) The natural consequence of false prophets was the fact that the people fell into rampant immorality.

(23:11-12) The priests also sided with these false prophets, and they would also be judged.

(23:13-15) Both the prophets of the north (Samaria) and the south (Judah) had perverted God’s ways.

(23:16-17) These false prophets created their “prophecies” out of thin air. They “predicted” prosperity, rather than God’s judgment. We might compare them to the “health and wealth” teachers today.

(23:18) The false prophets didn’t get their information from the “council of the LORD.”

(23:19-20) God will bring judgment on these men.

(23:21) A test of a true prophet was if he was called and commissioned by God.

(23:22) Another test was if the prophet led the people into godliness, rather than idolatry and immorality.

(23:23-24) Because God is omniscience and omnipresent, he knew everything about their false prophecies. God is not a “localized deity.” He is Lord of all and knows everything.

(23:25-26) God sometimes spoke to people in dreams (Gen 37, 41; Num. 12:6; 1 Sam. 28:6; Dan. 2:7; Joel 2:28; Zech. 1:7-6:8). However, these prophets had used this unfalsifiable claim to dupe people.

(23:27) The false prophecies had the effect of replacing God’s true word.

(23:28) There is no syncretism between true and false prophecy. They are as different as wheat and chaff. One is nourishing food, while the other is gathered up to be burned.

(23:29) Jeremiah had felt the effect of the true word of God in his own life (Jer. 5:14; 20:9).

(23:30-32) Jeremiah describes three types of false prophets: (1) false prophets will plagiarize the words of true prophets; (2) false prophets uses “god words” to support their prophecies such as “the Lord declares”; (3) false prophets who told people false hopes for the future.

(23:33-34) Instead of rendering this as “What oracle?” (NASB), it’s possible to render this as, “You are the burden!” (NET). Feinberg writes, “It is much better to follow LXX, Vulgate, and RSV and translate it ‘You are the burden!’ This requires no change of consonants in the Hebrew text but only another division of them. Otherwise, the sign of the accusative in the original is hard to explain. Not only were the lying prophets the burden, but the Lord immediately indicated that he would unburden himself of them (v.34). The word of God is ultimately not the burden on them, but they are a burden to the Lord.”^[128]

(23:35-37) The term “oracle” was being used by the false prophets so frequently that Jeremiah stopped using the term. Feinberg writes, “Their mockery of the word will weigh them down and crush them. This is the penalty for misusing a great word for their own purposes and not God’s.”^[129]

(23:38-40) The false prophets would live to see Jeremiah’s true prophecy be fulfilled against them.

Concluding insights

Teachers have a stricter judgment (Jas. 3:1). Don’t mess with God’s word!

False teaching still confronts us today.

Jeremiah 24 (Good and bad figs: These represent the exiles)

This chapter dates to the same time as chapters 22-23 in the reign of Zedekiah. It would date sometime after 597 BC.^[130]

The vision

(24:1-3) God gave a vision of two baskets of figs. One basket was ripe and edible, while the other was rotten (v.2).

The explanation

(24:4-7) The “good figs” represented the exiles who learned from the Exile and turned to God. God promised to give them prosperity, restoration, regathering, and genuine conversion (2 Kings 25:27-30; Jer. 29:4-7).

(24:8) The “bad figs” represented those who followed in the way of Zedekiah, who went into Egypt.

(24:9-10) This seems to go further than just the local Exile of 586 BC to the future worldwide dispersion after AD 70.^[131] God had promised to judge them in exactly this way if they disobeyed his covenant (Deut. 28:25, 37).

Jeremiah 25 (70 year exile)

(25:1) The fourth year of Jehoiakim was in 605 BC.^[132]

(25:2-7) Jeremiah had been serving for 23 years at this point, but no one had listened. God had sent prophet after prophet to them (v.4), but they refused to listen.

(25:8-9) God called King Cyrus his “shepherd” and “anointed” (Isa. 44:28; 45:1), because God used him to rescue the people of Israel. Here, God refers to Nebuchadnezzar as his “servant” (cf. Jer. 27:6; 43:10), because God would use him as his agent of judgment.

(25:10-11) Some interpreters claim that the 70 years is a round number, but we disagree. The time period lasted from 586 BC (the beginning of the Babylonian exile) to 516 BC (the completion of Zerubbabel’s temple). It’s also possible to understand the 70 years to last from 605 BC (the initial invasion) to 536 BC (the resettlement under Zerubbabel and Joshua).^[133]

(25:12-13) God used the Babylonians to judge his people, but he would also judge the Babylonians for their own sins (Jer. 50:11-13; Isa. 13:19).

(25:14) The “many nations” and “great kings” refers to the Media-Persians who would take over Babylon.

Judgment is given to the nations

(25:15-16) The “cup… of wrath” refers to God’s judgment often in the Bible (Jer. 49:12; 51:7; Job 21:20; Ps. 60:3; Isa. 51:17, 22; Ezek. 23:31; Mk. 10:39; 14:36; Jn. 18:11; Rev. 14:8, 10; 16:19; 18:6).

(25:17) This is not a literal drinking, because the meaning of the cup is not literal.^[134]

Specific nations are mentioned

(25:18) The words “as it is this day” must have been inserted by a later scribe after the fulfillment of the prophecy.^[135]

(25:19-25) Various nations are listed, and each of these did face judgment.

(25:26) Who is “Sheshach”? This name is only recorded in Jeremiah.^[136] We’re not sure.

(25:27-29) If God would judge his own people (Judah), do these pagan nations think that they will escape?

(25:30-33) Judgment starts with Judah, but it extends to “all the inhabitants of the earth” (v.30), “to the end of the earth” (v.31), “all flesh” (v.31), “from nation to nation” (v.32), and “from one end of the earth to the other” (v.33).

(25:34-38) God judges the “shepherds” (i.e. leaders) for their sins.

Jeremiah 26 (Jeremiah arrested and accused, but also saved from capital punishment)

This chapter relates to Jeremiah’s words in chapter 7.

(26:1) Jeremiah spoke during the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim (609-608 BC).

(26:2) Prophets were not allowed to “omit a word” of what God had spoken to them.

(26:3) God would have been willing to turn away his judgment if the people had turned toward him.

(26:4-6) “Shiloh” was close to Jerusalem, and it had been destroyed in 1,050 BC (1 Sam. 4:10; Ps. 78:60-61).^[137] Instead of being a “blessing” to the nations (Gen. 12:3), Judah would be a “curse.”

Jeremiah is charged with treason and capital punishment

(26:7-9) Because Jeremiah was faith to God (not omitting a word), the people charged Jeremiah with treason and wanted capital punishment.

(26:10-11) Jeremiah was charged with capital punishment because he had spoken against the “city.”

(26:12-13) Jeremiah didn’t back down at all. Instead, he reaffirmed that God had sent him to speak this message of judgment or repentance.

(26:14-15) Jeremiah didn’t beg for his life. Instead, he turned the tables on them, and said that they should realize that killing him would put their lives in danger.

The people saved Jeremiah’s life, citing Micah

(26:16-19) The people rise up against the priests and cite Micah as a precedent. Micah (who lived a century earlier) had also predicted the destruction of Jerusalem (Mic. 3:12). However, the leaders didn’t kill Micah for this prophecy, and they shouldn’t kill Jeremiah either.

Other prophets weren’t so fortunate

(26:20) Uriah was a true prophet of God.

(26:21-22) He fled to Egypt to save his life (v.21), but Jehoiakim practiced extradition and had him returned (v.22).

(26:23) He had no trial and had a disgraceful burial.

(26:24) This shows that God was with Jeremiah in a unique way.

Jeremiah 27 (Jeremiah tells everyone to Surrender to Babylon)

Chapters 27-29 are most likely a unit which dates to 594-593 BC, in the fourth year of Zedekiah.^[138] Many of the nations were trying to create a confederacy against Babylon. Jeremiah tells the leadership and the people to surrender, rather than fight.

(27:1) A scribal error crept into this passage. Most Hebrew manuscripts read “Jehoiakim,” rather than Zedekiah. However, the context repeatedly says Zedekiah—not Jehoiakim (vv.3, 12, 20). Moreover, three Hebrew manuscripts, the Syrian version, and the Arabic versions all read Zedekiah.^[139]

(27:2) This must have been a literal dramatic act, because Hananiah ripped this off of Jeremiah later on (Jer. 28:10). This is likely symbolic for the people of Judah showing submission, rather than fighting. If they didn’t surrender and take on the yoke, then Jeremiah predicts that they would be killed (v.8). If they did surrender, they would be allowed to live (v.11).

Warning to the nations

(27:3) God told Jeremiah to send this message of unqualified surrender to all of the nations.

(27:4-7) Since God is the Creator, the nations should surrender to his judgment through Nebuchadnezzar.

(27:8-11) Jeremiah warns the nations that their “prophets” would “predict” peace. He tells the leaders not to listen, because they would only face the sword.

Warning to Zedekiah

(27:12-15) Zedekiah was a weak leader, who “could never carry through a resolve to follow the Lord wholly.”^[140] Jeremiah pleads with him to disregard the false prophets and submit to Babylon.

Warning to the false prophets

(27:16-18) The false prophets thought that the golden “vessels” from the Temple would be returned. Jeremiah challenges them to bring back the vessels if they are true prophets. He is confronting these prophets to show that they are false.

(27:19-22) God promises that the vessels will remain in Babylon until God will return them. This was fulfilled during the time of Ezra after the Exile (Ezra 1:7-11).

Jeremiah 28 (Showdown: Hananiah versus Jeremiah)

Hananiah was a false prophet, and Jeremiah was a true prophet. The two face off in this chapter (~594-593 BC).^[141]

(28:1) Some commentators see a problem with the text saying that it was the “beginning” of Zedekiah’s reign, when he was four years into an eleven year reign. But the Jewish people “divided periods of time into halves: beginning and end.”^[142] So this is another way of saying that it was the “first half” of his reign.

(28:2-3) Jeremiah had made a “yoke” to go around his neck to symbolize the need to submit (Jer. 27:2). Hananiah was flatly contradicting Jeremiah’s prediction. Hananiah used all of the prophetic jargon (“Thus says the LORD… within two years…”), but he was simply wrong. The Babylonian Chronicle states that Nebuchadnezzar was busy fighting a revolt during this time, which may have led to Hananiah’s prediction.^[143]

Hananiah didn’t know that God said, “I am against the prophets… who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares’” (Jer. 23:31).

(28:4) Hananiah directly contradicted Jeremiah’s prophecy about Jeconiah being exiled (Jer. 22:24-27).

(28:5-6) Jeremiah gave a hearty “Amen!” to Hananiah’s words, because Jeremiah wanted to see Judah prosper in the end. However, he cannot agree with everything Hananiah said.

(28:7-9) Jeremiah warned the people of prophets who “prophesy of peace” but without mentioning repentance. Most of the ancient prophets predicted destruction. If Hananiah was a true prophet, then they would need to see this come to fruition. Jeremiah takes a “wait and see” approach.

(28:10-11) Out of anger, Hananiah broke the yoke around Jeremiah’s neck to show that Jeremiah’s predictions of slavery were wrong.

(28:12-14) Jeremiah lets Hananiah get the last word in public, but he tells him that actually the situation is going to go from bad to worse—to wooden yokes to iron ones!

(28:15-17) Jeremiah gave a true short term prophecy: Hananiah would die within the year. Hananiah died seven months later, because he had convinced the people to believe in lies.

Jeremiah 29 (Letter to the Exiles)

This chapter dates to a few years after the Exile. The false prophets were telling the exiles that Babylon would fall soon, but Jeremiah tells them that it will actually take 70 years.

(29:1-2) Jeremiah wrote a letter to the survivors of the Exile in Babylon. The royalty (e.g. Jeconiah and the “queen mother” Nehusta, cf. Jer. 13:18; 2 Kings 24:8) had been taken out of power.

(29:3) These men must have been some kind of Jewish embassy in Babylon. The Babylonians allowed communication between Judah and the exiles.^[144]

(29:4-7) It is absolutely surprising that God would tell the exiled people to love their captors and “seek the welfare of the city” and to “pray to the LORD on its behalf” (v.7). This is so unique of a message that Feinberg writes, “Verses 5-7 are so remarkable for their advice to the exiles that they are without parallel in the literature of antiquity.”^[145]

These verses also give us insight into what their captivity looked like. For one, they weren’t slaves, because they could build homes. Moreover, they were told to get married and have kids. If their time in exile was abject slavery, then this wouldn’t be a good time to start a family. Instead, God’s strategy was similar to the time in Egypt under Pharaoh: continue to have kids and multiply. This way, when the Exile was over, there would be many people who could return.

(29:8-9) The false prophets were still running amok in the Jewish community. They had previously said that no judgment would fall on Judah. This would seem to be enough to disqualify them (!!). But they were continuing to give false prophecies anyhow.

(29:10) Instead of a quick judgment or an everlasting judgment, Jeremiah predicts that the Jewish people would be in exile for 70 years (cf. Jer. 25:11).

(Jer. 29:10) Was this literally fulfilled?

(29:11) This promise must have been very powerful for the Jewish people. Even though they were under God’s judgment and discipline, God was still telling them that he cared for their “welfare” and their “future.”

(29:12-14) Those who decided to seek after God will all of their heart would be liberated from exile.

The Second Letter (?)

(29:15-19) Critics believe that this is a later interpolation because of (1) the sudden shift of context, (2) Jeremiah’s critical view of the reigning king, and (3) its absence in the Septuagint (LXX). However, Feinberg argues that this could be a second letter delivered at a later time.^[146] Moreover, this material fits nicely in the context because of the mention of false prophets and the consequences of following them. As for the LXX, those translators may have excised this section because “translators could not understand their connection with the rest of the chapter.”^[147] We are simply not sure.

Ahab and Zedekiah: false prophets

(29:20-23) Jeremiah must have had good intel on what was happening in the exile. He knows two of the false prophets by name (e.g. Ahab and Zedekiah), and he knows what immoral things they were doing.

Shemaiah the Nehelamite: another false prophet

(29:24-28) Jeremiah’s letter (cited in v.28) must have angered the false prophets in Babylon. One of them, Shemaiah, wrote a letter to Zephaniah (a leading priest) to silence Jeremiah and have him imprisoned.

(29:29-32) Zephaniah (a leading priest) read the letter and knew that Shemaiah was a phony. Jeremiah predicted that Shemaiah’s line would end, and Shemaiah wouldn’t be able to see the regathering of Israel. After all, this wouldn’t happen for 70 years (v.10).

Jeremiah 30 (The Future Regathering of Israel)

Listen to D.A. Carson’s lecture on 30-31 here

Jeremiah 30-33 is considered to be a unitary group of prophecies called the “Book of Consolation.”^[148] They date to a time during the siege of Jerusalem under Babylon (Jer. 32:1-2).

Critics do not believe that these chapters were written by Jeremiah, because his prophecies turn from judgment to hope. Yet they fail to see that Jeremiah’s message changes so abruptly because of the historical context. Judgment was already falling on Jerusalem, so there was no more reason to make these prophecies. Instead, Jeremiah gave words of consolation to the people, telling them that God would be faithful to them as a nation after the Exile.

(30:1-2) Jeremiah wrote down his prophecies in “a book.”

(30:3) “Days are coming…” refers to the far future (cf. Jer. 3:16; 16:14; 23:5; 31:27, 31). The promises were given to the entire nation—not just Judah (v.10).

(30:4-6) The context is eschatology (the end of history). Earlier, Jeremiah stated that “days are coming” (v.3), and later, he will refer to God raising up “David their king” (v.9), which is clearly messianic.

Jeremiah foretells a terrible future for Israel. The men grab their “loins” (v.6). Other translations capture this better: “stomach” (ESV, NIV, NET) or “sides” (NLT). The context refers to childbirth, so this must refer to men doubling over in pain because of the terror.

(30:7) Some interpreters understand “that day” to refer to Cyrus’ destruction of the Babylonians. However, we fail to see why this would be a day of “Jacob’s distress” with “none like it.” After all, Cyrus “would be considered their liberator from those who took them captive.”^[149] We agree with Feinberg that this “day” refers to the terrible “Day of the Lord” at the end of human history.^[150] This refers to the Tribulation period, and Israel will be center stage.

“But he will be saved from it…” Even though Israel (“Jacob”) will go through terrible “distress,” the nation will still experience salvation. Feinberg notes, “This could never be said of any deliverance to this present hour; it must refer to eschatological times.”^[151]

(30:8-9) The “yoke” will be broken by “David their king.” This clearly refers to the coming of the Messiah (cf. Ezek. 34:23; Hos. 3:5).

(30:10-11) This cannot refer to the contemporary setting of Jeremiah. God promises to gather the people back to their land (v.10) and destroy the enemy nations (v.11). Neither of these things have happened yet in history—certainly not in Jeremiah’s time. This must refer to the end of human history.

(30:12-15) Israel’s condition is hopeless (without God’s intervention). They cannot save themselves.

(30:16-17) This matches God’s promise to “curse those who curse you” (Gen. 12:3).

(30:18-20) God will restore Israel to a position of prosperity.

(30:21-22) This “leader” will come from the Davidic line (v.9). Unlike other kings, he will have direct access to God (compare with Jeroboam—1 Kings 12:26-33; 13:1-6; Uzziah—2 Chronicles 26:16-20). He will also be Jewish. This predicts the coming of the Messiah. An early Targum states, “Messiah shall be revealed to them out of their own midst.”^[152]

(30:23-24) After God’s wrath is completed, people will understand what this prophecy is referring to—though it won’t transpire until “latter days.”

Jeremiah 31 (The New Covenant and the Restoring of Israel)

(31:1-2) “At that time” refers to the end of history. As we already argued in chapter 30, the time period is the end of human history (see comments above). Jeremiah is definitely using an “Exodus motif” from the past,^[153] and this shows that the regathering of Israel will be similar in the sense that it will occur after a long period of suffering.

(31:3-4) Because of God’s grace and “everlasting love,” Israel was transformed from a “promiscuous woman” and into a “virgin.” Feinberg comments, “Grace blots out all the failures of the past.”^[154]

(31:5) The planting of “vineyards” shows that wartime is over.

(31:6) According the Jewish tradition, there were “watchmen” who would count the cycles of the moon to keep the calendar cycle orderly.^[155] Here, these watchmen come from “Ephraim” (Samaria), and they are included in helping with the religious rituals.

(31:7-9) This is a universal regathering. It is not just “from the north country,” but from “the remote parts of the earth” (v.8) and the “coastlands afar off” (v.10). “Ephraim” is called God’s “firstborn” (cf. Ex. 4:22).

(31:10-14) The nations will all hear about what God has done in regathering Israel (v.10). The nation will be blessed and filled with joy.

(31:15) “Rachel” was an ancient ancestress of Ephraim and Manasseh through Joseph. “Ramah” was a city five miles north of Jerusalem.^[156] This was the city where the exiles were gathered to be deported to Babylon (Jer. 40:1). Rachel’s weeping is poetic, because she had been dead for a millennium at this point. Remember, Rachel had longed for children desperately (Gen. 30:1), and now she was seeing her “children” carted away.

(Jer. 31:15) Does Matthew cite this passage out of context?

(31:16-17) God comforts “Rachel” saying that these exiles will return.

(31:18-20) Ephraim experienced divine discipline, and this is what brought him to repentance. God clearly feels emotions (“My heart yearns for him”).

(31:21) God wants them to do their part to come back quickly. God gave them the green light, but now they need to get moving.

(31:22) The statement “a woman will encompass a man” is debated by interpreters. The statement is so confusing that Feinberg writes that the “meaning is beyond present solution.”^[157]

(31:23-25) God will restore the nation—even individual cities.

(31:26) Jeremiah spoke against false prophetic dreams (Jer. 23:25). But this doesn’t preclude true prophetic dreams. God must have communicated all of this to him in dream

(31:27-30) The proverb of eating the “sour grapes” and their “teeth being on edge” refers to the later generations thinking that they were punished for their ancestors decisions (cf. Ezek. 18:2-4). But Jeremiah corrects this way of thinking (cf. Deut. 24:16). The later generations wouldn’t gripe about God’s judgment like this anymore.

The New Covenant

(31:31) “Behold” is an attention-getter. Whatever is coming next will be shocking.

“Days are coming” is the language of eschatology.^[158] This covenant will be in the far future. This “new covenant” will replace the old covenant under Moses (Heb. 8:13).

Even though this covenant was made with “Israel” and “Judah,” Gentile believers are grafted into this covenant as well (Rom. 11:16-24). Though Feinberg rightly comments, “Does this mean that all the blessings promised Israel may now be appropriated by believers? Does this efface the distinction between Israel and the church? The answer to these questions is a resounding no! The NT is careful to state in each instance what elements in the blessings promised Israel may be transferred to the common enjoyment of Israel and the church. It is neither warranted nor in harmony with Scripture to go beyond this.”^[159]

(31:32) The Mosaic Covenant is clearly in view, and Jeremiah is showing that this was conditional on obedience.

(31:33) The New Covenant will not be external, but internal (Ex. 19:3-8; 24:3-8; 31:18; Deut. 4:13; 29:1-29; 2 Cor. 3:3). Believers will be given a new heart (Ezek. 36:25-27).

(31:34) This part has not come to fruition in full. It is being fulfilled slowly. Not until the Millennial Kingdom will this be the case. At this time, all people will be welcomed (“they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them”).

(31:35-37) God states that Israel will survive in order to see the fulfillment of this New Covenant. Feinberg writes, “The survival of Israel through the centuries can be explained only on supernatural grounds.”^[160] We agree. Nothing less than the sovereign protection of God has allowed Israel to survive for two millennia, fulfilling this ancient promise. God compares the perpetuity of Israel to the stability of nature itself. Again, Feinberg writes, “National existence is assured, regardless of how God may have to deal with individuals in the nation. God regards his promises rather than their demerits.”^[161]

(31:38-40) A literal nation needs literal real estate. God explains the borders of Jerusalem. Zechariah also predicted these borders (Zech. 14:10).

• Tower of Hananel: This refers to the northeast corner of the city (Neh. 3:1; 12:39; Zech. 14:10).
• Corner Gate: This likely refers to the northwest corner of the city (2 Kin. 14:13; 2 Chron. 26:9).
• Gareb: This is unknown, but might refer to the western side of Jerusalem.^[162]
• Goah: This is also unknown, but might refer to the southern side of Jerusalem near the Valley of Hinnom.^[163]

If this is spiritualized to refer to the Church, then why all of the geographical detail? This prophecy has not been fulfilled, because Jeremiah states that Jerusalem “will not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever” (v.40).

(Jer. 31:38) Does this predict the modern regathering of Israel? 

Jeremiah 32 (Jeremiah buys land which shows that the regathering will happen)

This chapter takes place during the year before the Fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC. This was the final siege of Jerusalem before Babylon took over.

(32:1-5) The “tenth year” of Zedekiah’s reign is 587 BC.^[164] This is covered in 2 Kings 25. Jeremiah 37 explains that Jeremiah was thrown in prison because he was charged with allegedly defecting to the Babylonians. Of course, this is false. Jeremiah was preaching that the Babylonians were God’s agents of judgment, and that the people should surrender (vv.3-5).

The “court of the guard” wasn’t quite prison. He had freedom to move around, and friends could still visit him here. But he was surrounded by guards.^[165]

Jeremiah buys land

(32:6-15) Land was not supposed to be sold outside of the family. This is why Hanamel was selling his land to Jeremiah his cousin. This is a case of the kinsman-redeemer law (Lev. 25:23-28; Ruth 4:1-6). Jeremiah buys the land from his cousin. The practice of making two copies of the deed and sealing one in a jar was common practice at this time.^[166] Jeremiah gives one of the copies to his secretary “Baruch.” This is the first mention of Baruch in the book, but he becomes a key figure as the book progresses.

What is the significance of Jeremiah buying this land? This demonstrates that Jeremiah really believed that Israel would be regathered after the Exile. After all, if they weren’t regathered, then Jeremiah would be buying worthless land! Jeremiah was putting his money where his mouth was. Later, Jeremiah has the opportunity to go to Babylon, but he chooses to stay in Judah, which also confirms his loyalty to the nation.

Jeremiah prays

(32:16-17) Jeremiah begins his prayer by focusing on God’s omnipotence.

(32:18) Jeremiah prays about God’s grace and God’s judgment.

(32:19) Jeremiah prays about God’s omniscience.

(32:20-22) Jeremiah prays about God’s miracles in the past and the present.

(32:23) Even though God is awesome (vv.17-22), the people were responsible for their judgment.

(32:24) “Siege ramps” were created from building mounds in the dirt to climb over the walls of a city.

(32:25) God wanted Jeremiah to publicly buy this land as an object-lesson to the people. Even though the city of Jerusalem would be captured, God would regather them.

God’s response to Jeremiah’s prayer

(32:26-27) Feinberg comments, “It was as if the Lord were asking Jeremiah if he believed his own words… The Lord’s assurance came to Jeremiah in the very words he had used (cf. v.17).”^[167]

(32:28-29) The punishment would fit the crime (cf. Deut. 13:12-16).

(32:30-33) Solomon had finished building the city, and he was the first idolater. God indicts all of the people for their sin of idolatry (v.32), despite his work to discipline and teach them (v.33). Education was not the problem.

(32:34-35) Idolatry was not some innocuous religious practice: it involved child sacrifice. God uses an anthropomorphism to describe how this had never even entered his mind.

(32:36-41) God explains the depths of his judgment (v.36), but also the depths of his grace (vv.36-42). These promises stretch beyond the initial Exile because this is called an “everlasting covenant” (v.40).

(32:41) The expression “with all My heart” (beḵol libbî) is only used here with reference to God in the entirety of the OT.^[168]

(32:42) Covenantalist theologians spiritualize this section to refer to the Church. They interpret the judgment in the first part of the verse to refer to Israel, but the blessings in the second part to refer to the Church!

(32:43-44) Just like Jeremiah bought his land (vv.6-15), many others would eventually buy their land as well.

Jeremiah 33

(33:1) This is still the same time period as chapter 32. Jeremiah is still bound to the courtyard, but the word of God is not bound (2 Tim. 2:9). God was still speaking through Jeremiah.

(33:2-3) Jeremiah starts by calling God as the Creator (v.2). Because God is the Creator, he should be sought after for his infinite reservoir of knowledge.

(33:4-5) The Siege of Jerusalem was so desperate that the Jewish people themselves ripped apart their houses in order to create a blockade against the Babylonians. The “corpses” refer to the defenders of Jerusalem. The people were as good as dead.

(33:6-9) Feinberg argues—and we agree—that the content of these promises extend past the immediate regathering after 70 years.^[169] First, the fortunes of Israel have not been fully restored (v.7). Second, the language of the New Covenant is used (v.8; Jer. 31:34). Third, the local restoration did not have this sort of effect on the neighboring nations.

(33:10-11) Jeremiah spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem in the past tense. He predicts that people would still have “joy” and “gladness.” The people would still call on God’s goodness and love after the Exile.

(33:12-13) We are not sure if these are literal shepherds (i.e. showing the material prosperity of Israel) or metaphorical shepherds (i.e. showing that the leaders of Israel will turn back to God). Feinberg notes that the Targum substitutes “Messiah” for “the one who numbers them.”^[170]

Restoration of the Kings and Priests

Critical commentators understand these verses to be hyperbole, because this was never fulfilled after the Exile. This is wrongheaded, rejecting predictive prophecy. Instead, this section refers to the messianic age.

(33:14) The Septuagint (LXX) doesn’t contain this verse. However, this shows that the timeframe is in the distant future (“Behold, days are coming…”).

(33:15) This is a messianic passage which parallels Jeremiah 23:1-8.

(33:16) This is a similar title given to the Messiah in Jeremiah 23:6. Feinberg writes, “[Israel] can have the same name as the Messiah because she reflects that righteousness the Messiah bestows on her.”^[171]

(33:17-18) Critics argue that this is a contradiction, because the kings and priests have been cut off. However, there are two problems with this assertion: (1) This is referring to Messianic time—as the context indicates, and (2) Jesus is our Priest-King who can fulfill these roles—even if human kings and priests do not.

(33:19-22) Similar to Jeremiah 31:35-37, these promises are compared to the stable regularity of nature (cf. Gen. 15:5; 22:17). In other words, a “nullification of the covenant is an impossibility.”^[172]

(33:23-24) The “two families” refer to Israel and Judah.^[173]

(33:25-26) The inclusion of the patriarchs (e.g. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) builds on the unconditional nature of God’s promise to the people.

Siege of Jerusalem (Chs. 34-38)

These five chapters focus on the siege of Jerusalem, which would date just before 586 BC.

Jeremiah 34 (Releasing and then recapturing the slaves: religious hypocrisy)

(34:1-2) This can be dated ~598-588 BC (Jer. 39:1-2; 2 Kings 24:20-25:1).^[174] Verse 22 tells us that the Babylonians had temporarily stopped the siege, but they would return. Perhaps Zedekiah believed that the Babylonians were leaving, but Jeremiah strongly opposed this false hope.

(34:3) Zedekiah had tried to form an alliance with Egypt and betray Nebuchadnezzar. He would need to answer personally to Nebuchadnezzar “eye to eye” and “face to face.” In fact, after he met Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar killed all of Zedekiah’s sons and then gouged his eyes out (Jer. 52:11).

(34:4-5) Feinberg holds that this prophecy was conditional upon Zedekiah’s surrender, but since Zedekiah didn’t surrender, this didn’t come to pass.^[175] At the same time, it is true that Zedekiah wasn’t executed in Babylon—only blinded.

(34:6-7) Only three cities remained uncaptured: Jerusalem, Lachish, and Azekah. Rehoboam had fought to protect and fortify Lachish and Azekah (2 Chron. 11:5, 9). Feinberg mentions the “Lachish Letters,” which date to this time. Letter 4 states, “We are watching for the smoke signals of Lachish … because we do not see Azekah.”^[176]

(34:8-10) Since the city was about to fall, it’s possible that Zedekiah released the slaves because of (1) mass starvation, (2) social chaos, (3) conscription into the military, or (4) a phony religious reform. The context fits with the fourth view the closest, because the law of emancipation was rescinded when the siege temporarily stopped.

(34:11) Once there was a brief break in the siege, Zedekiah had the slaves recaptured (!!). This might imply that Zedekiah was trying to perform a phony religious reform.

(34:12-14) Jeremiah reminded the people that they were once slaves in Egypt; therefore, how could they be so calloused to these slaves? Moreover, he reminded them that the Law required them to release slaves (Deut. 15:1, 12).

(34:15-16) God was especially outraged that the people originally released these slaves in God’s “name.” This was religious hypocrisy at its worst.

(34:17) This is a play on words. Because they wouldn’t “release” (d^erôr) the slaves, God would “release” (d^erôr) the people… to be killed!

(34:18-22) The Hebrews would refer to “cutting a covenant.” This goes back to Abraham (Gen 15:9-17). If people broke the contract, then they would end up like the butchered animals.

Jeremiah 35 (Flashback to Jehoiakim: Learn a lesson from the Recabites)

Chapters 35-36 are a flashback seventeen years to 606 BC, during the reign of Jehoiakim.^[177] The point of the chapter is to show that the Recabites listened to their ancestor, while the Jews did not listen to God, the prophets, or their ancestors.

(35:1-2) The Recabites were a nomadic tribe that splintered off in 840 BC, and they were descendants of Jonadab/Jehonadab (2 Kings 10:15-23).^[178] They lived in the deserts of the south (1 Sam. 15:6) and inside of Israel (Judg. 4:17; 5:24). The faithfulness of the Recabites is not to be a “temperance lesson.”^[179] Instead, the purpose is to show that they were obedient to their ancestor.

(35:3-5) Jeremiah took these people to test their convictions by offering them wine.

(35:6-11) Since they were nomadic, they couldn’t plant vineyards. They had followed their ancestor’s advice for 200 years. Feinberg comments, “It was not the asceticism of the Recabites that Jeremiah commended but their fidelity to Jonadab (v.10).”^[180]

Rebuke for Judah

(35:12-17) Jeremiah compares the Recabites with the Jewish people:^[181]

(1) The Recabites obeyed their fallible ancestor (v.14), but the Jewish people disobeyed their infallible God.

(2) The Recabites obeyed after only hearing once (v.15), while the Jewish people heard from God repeatedly.

(3) Recab’s command wasn’t important, but God’s commands were eternal.

(4) The Recabites followed these commands for hundreds of years, while the Jewish people repeatedly broke the covenant.

(5) The Recabites would be rewarded, while the Jewish people would be punished.

(35:18-19) The expression “stand before Me” (ʿōmēḏ l^ep̱ānay) is a “technical term for the privilege of service, used of prophets (1 Kings 17:1), priests (Num 16:9), and kings (1 Kings 10:8).”^[182] These nomadic and obscure people were brought into God’s service, while the Jewish people were going to be exiled.

Jeremiah 36 (Jehoiakim burns Jeremiah’s scroll)

(36:1) Like the previous chapter, this dates to roughly 605 BC.^[183]

(36:2) This was an incredible task. Jeremiah had to dictate all of the prophecies that God had given him from 626-605 BC. Some of the prophecies may have been written down already by Jeremiah in the form of personal manuscripts, but much must have been committed to memory by the aid of the Holy Spirit.

(36:3) The hope was that the shotgun blast of these prophecies would get the people to repent.

(36:4) Baruch was Jeremiah’s secretary (Jer. 32:12-13). The chapter shows us that this took months to accomplish (compare verses 1, 9, 22).

(36:5) Jeremiah was probably forbidden to speak in the Temple because of his earlier prophetic messages (Jer. 7:1-15; 26:1-7).

(36:6-8) Jeremiah chose a day of “fasting,” so that Baruch would get a big audience. Again, the hope was that these words would influence the people into a mass repentance.

(36:9) The date now is December of 604 BC.^[184] The people led this fast, and they must have been on edge, knowing that Nebuchadnezzar was nearby. Perhaps they thought that a fast would turn away God’s judgment.

(36:10) “Shaphan” was King Josiah’s secretary of state (2 Kings 22:3, 8, 12). “Gemariah” is Shaphan’s son. Gemariah’s brother (Ahikam) was a friend of Jeremiah (Jer. 26:24), which could explain why Baruch had such a positive hearing from the leadership.

(36:11-15) “Micaiah” was Shaphan’s son, and he told the officials about the message. It seems like he wanted to get the word out, because the messages were so important.

(36:16-19) These officials don’t seem to be ratting on Baruch or Jeremiah. They seem genuinely concerned that King Jehoiakim needed to hear these messages of judgment. Later, they pled with the king not to burn the scroll (v.25).

Jehoiakim listened to the message… and had the scroll burned!

(36:20) Jehoiakim was the son of a godly king (Josiah), but we see here that Jehoiakim is nothing like his father.

The officials didn’t bring the scroll to Jehoiakim, but merely told him the messages. They must have sensed that Jehoiakim would react with hostility.

(36:21) Jehoiakim had already heard the message, but he evidently wanted to get his hands on this “seditious” scroll.

(36:22-24) With each intermittent reading, Jehoiakim literally cut up the Word of God and had it burned—piece by piece. This is completely different from his father Josiah’s reaction to reading the Word of God (2 Kin. 22:11). The king’s personal servants were guilty of the sin of omission: they did nothing as the scroll was being destroyed by the flames (v.24).

(36:25-26) Jeremiah did have some friends who dissented (v.25), and God took the side of Jeremiah and Baruch by hiding them (v.26).

The scroll is rewritten

(36:27-28) God doesn’t depend on scrolls to get his message out. As an omniscient being, he doesn’t need to back up his words on external hard drives of Dropbox! Instead, God merely told Jeremiah to recite the prophecies again, and even add more details. Feinberg writes, “It takes more than a king’s knife to destroy God’s message.”^[185]

(36:29-31) Jehoiakim’s son (Jehoiachin) reigned for three months (2 Kin. 24:6-8). But this wasn’t a valid reign, because Nebuchadnezzar immediately took him out of power and Jehoiachin died in Exile.

(36:32) Feinberg comments, “Jehoiakim’s destruction of the scroll was one of many attempts through the centuries to destroy God’s Word. But the Word of the Lord is indestructible.”^[186]

Concluding insights

Jehoiakim couldn’t truly destroy the Word of God, but the Word of God truly would destroy him! Don’t mess with God’s word! (cf. Mt. 24:35)

Jeremiah 37 (Jeremiah is accused of defecting and imprisoned)

Listen to D.A. Carson’s lecture on chapters 37-39 here

These chapters not only record the fall of Jerusalem, but they also show Jeremiah’s treatment during this time. They date from 588 BC to 586 BC.^[187] Therefore, roughly 18 years have passed between chapter 36 and 37.

(37:1) Zedekiah was the brother of Jehoiakim. This shows the fulfillment of Jeremiah 36:20.

Since Nebuchadnezzar personally appointed him, it seems apparent that he lacked any real power. He seems to be a puppet king. He reigned for eleven years (597-586 BC).^[188]

(37:2-3) With Egypt attacking the Babylonians (v.5, 9), Zedekiah may have thought that Jeremiah’s prophecies were turning out to be false. Politically, things were going well, but spiritually, they were not (“neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet”).

(37:4-5) The Egyptian Pharaoh was Pharaoh Hophra (Jer. 44:30),^[189] and because of his attack on the Babylonians, the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem was temporarily lifted. However, Nebuchadnezzar would quickly destroy Egypt and come back and destroy Jerusalem.

(37:6-10) Jeremiah didn’t waver in his telling of the truth. He kept pressing the claim that Babylon would take over Jerusalem—even if there were only a few of them left standing (!!). This statement is likely hyperbole,^[190] but it definitely shows that God’s will had not changed.

Jeremiah is accused of treason and defection to Babylon

(37:11-12) Jeremiah was going to secure some real estate that he owned, but this was falsely interpreted to be an act of defection. After all, Jeremiah had been predicting Jerusalem’s doom, and he was caught leaving the city. It would have been easy to assume that he was escaping.

(37:13-15) This accusation doesn’t carry weight, because the Babylonians had already left. So there would be no one to join. Irijah was the grandson of Hananiah, and Jeremiah had predicted Hananiah’s death (Jer. 28:16). We might wonder if Irijah was trying to get revenge on Jeremiah for this.^[191] Regardless, Jeremiah was sent to prison.

(37:16-17) Jeremiah was in prison for “many days.” During this extended time, the Babylonians must have returned from destroying the Egyptians. This is why Zedekiah asked Jeremiah for a word from God—even though he did this “secretly” (v.17).

Even after taking a beating (v.15) and spending “many days” in prison (v.16), Jeremiah refused to change his message. This prisoner was fearless, while the king was fearful!

(37:18-20) Jeremiah pled for fairness. After all, his prophecies came true, while the false prophets’ predictions had not. Why then was he in prison, while the false prophets were left unharmed? (v.19; cf. Deut. 13:1-5; 18:20-22).

(37:21) Zedekiah didn’t completely free Jeremiah—likely because he was afraid of his officials. But he did take care of Jeremiah’s basic needs by giving him bread.

Jeremiah 38 (Jeremiah is thrown into a muddy cistern)

These events must have taken place toward the end of the siege of Jerusalem, and total destruction was imminent.

(38:1-3) These men heard what Jeremiah was preaching: unconditional surrender. Jeremiah’s message wasn’t seditious or expedient. Instead, he was following what God had told him to say.

(38:4) Jeremiah’s message of surrender infuriated these politicians because it was ruining the morale of the soldiers.

(38:5) Zedekiah was the king, but he was too much of a weakling to stand up to his own officials (!!).

(38:6) This must have been a deep cistern, because they had to lower Jeremiah down with “ropes.” They didn’t want to outright kill Jeremiah, but they did want to leave him in a mud and muck filled cistern to die.

(38:7-9) “Ebed-melech” was a foreigner (“Ethiopian”). Feinberg comments, “The times were surely out of joint. Only a foreigner cared enough about Jeremiah to rescue him.”^[192] This foreigner had more courage than the Judean king.

(38:10) They probably needed “thirty men” in order to block anyone from stopping their saving effort.

(38:11-13) The men—led by Ebed-melech—successfully saved this old man from the mud and muck of the cistern. Staying down there any longer would’ve been a death sentence.

Zedekiah asks Jeremiah for counsel

(38:14-16) Zedekiah spoke with Jeremiah in private. This is most likely because Zedekiah was too afraid of his officials for a public meeting. Jeremiah’s response to the king shows that he had properly discerned Zedekiah’s character and oaths (v.15).

(38:17-19) The Jewish defectors (who had been teaching surrender) would no doubt torture Zedekiah. But Jeremiah disagreed with this fear: He knew what would have happened if Zedekiah had surrendered. Zedekiah feared men more than God (Prov. 29:25).

(38:20-23) It was common practice for a conquering king to take over the harem of the subservient king (2 Sam. 16:21-22).

(38:24) Zedekiah was afraid of his own officials. So he told Jeremiah to lie about their meeting.

(38:27) Jeremiah’s lie is a case of “prioritized ethics.”

(38:28) This single verse shows that Jeremiah’s prophetic career was vindicated.

Fall of Jerusalem (Ch. 39)

Jeremiah 39 (The last thing Zedekiah sees…)

(39:1-3) The Babylonians finally broke through the walls. The entire siege lasted about 18 months.

“Nergal-sar-ezer” was Nebuchadnezzar’s son-in-law. He succeeded Nebuchadnezzar under the name Neriglissar.^[193]

(39:4) Zedekiah didn’t listen to the unending prophecies of Jeremiah. Now, too late, he finally tries to flee from the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar, saving his own skin.

(39:5) “Riblah” was the military headquarters of Nebuchadnezzar. It had formerly been the headquarters of Pharaoh Neco (2 Kin. 23:33). It was about 65 miles north of Damascus.^[194]

(39:6-8) The last thing that Zedekiah ever saw was the butchering of his sons! Feinberg writes, “Assyrian sculptures show how kings delighted to put out, often with their own hands, the eyes of captive rulers.”^[195] This fulfilled two prophecies: First, Zedekiah would see Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 32:3-4), and secondly, he would die in Babylon (Ezek. 12:13).

(39:9-10) The rich were taken off into Exile, and the poor were allowed to stay behind to work the land. In Daniel’s day, we see that Nebuchadnezzar wanted viceroys to go back and oversee these remaining Jewish people (Dan. 1).

Nebuchadnezzar spares Jeremiah

(39:11-14) Why is Nebuchadnezzar so kind to Jeremiah? It’s likely that Jewish defectors told Nebuchadnezzar about Jeremiah’s proclamation of complete surrender, and Nebuchadnezzar must have thought that Jeremiah was a Babylonian sympathizer. Feinberg comments, “Paradoxically he was treated better by foreign invaders than by his own countrymen whom he so dearly loved.”^[196]

God spares Ebed-melech

(39:15-18) It’s possible that Ebed-melech heard this prophecy from Jeremiah before the fall of the city. Ebed-melech may have felt worried about retaliation from Jeremiah’s enemies. Instead, God tells this brave man that he would be protected and in fact survive the massacre.

Concluding insights

Jeremiah paid a high price for fidelity to God’s word.

Zedekiah kept asking the same question, and he kept getting the same answer. The problem was that Zedekiah refused to listen.

Jeremiah taught a theology of failure. He was totally faithful, but totally unsuccessful.

There is a serious irony that the Gentile king (Nebuchadnezzar) and Cushite (Ebed-Melech) listened to the prophet, but the Jewish leaders did not.

After the Fall of Jerusalem (Chs. 40-44)

Jeremiah 40

(40:1) “Nebuzaradan” must not have recognized Jeremiah, and Jeremiah was “bound in chains” like everyone else (v.4). After all, it isn’t as though they had photographs of what Jeremiah looked like.

“Ramah” is five miles north of Jerusalem.^[197] This seems to be a holding tank for those who would be questioned before deportation.

(40:2-3) Critics find it hard to believe that Nebuzaradan would use theological language like this. However, we need to remember that invading nations studied the religion of the people’s they conquered. The Assyrians understood quite a bit about Jewish theology in order to intimidate them (2 Kin. 18:22, 33-35), and Jeremiah’s reputation definitely preceded him (Jer. 39:11-14). Feinberg comments, “The simplest explanation may be that he knew of the content of Jeremiah’s main emphasis in preaching and was simply quoting it as appropriate for the occasion.”^[198]

(40:4-5) Nebuzaradan gave Jeremiah the choice to go to Babylon or stay with the poor in Judea. “Gedaliah” was a puppet governor, whom the Babylonians installed to watch over the people.

(40:6) Jeremiah went to “Mizpah” which is only two miles north of Ramah.^[199] This demonstrates that Jeremiah was not a traitor or defector at all. He chose to stay behind with the Jewish people, rather than go into Babylon.

(40:7-8) The surviving guerrilla soldiers flocked to Gedaliah’s leadership.

(40:9-10) Gedaliah told the men to take care of the land and submit to Nebuchadnezzar’s oppression. Anything else would be suicide.

(40:11-12) The fact that a Jewish man was made governor must have given the people confidence under his leadership.

(40:13-14) Ishmael wanted to kill Gedaliah. Why? It’s likely that Ishmael felt that he should be governor because he was from the line of David, or Ishmael may have felt that it was seditious of Gedaliah to work for Babylon.^[200]

(40:15-16) Johanan wanted to kill Ishmael before Ishmael could kill Gedaliah. Gedaliah was undiscerning and didn’t appreciate the sinfulness of human nature. It resulted in his tragic end (Jer. 41:1-3).

Jeremiah 41 (Ishmael’s murderous rampage)

There is no literary break between these two chapters (40-41).

(41:1-3) Ishmael staged a coup over dinner. While he only had a total of eleven men (including himself), he killed Gedaliah and all those loyal to Gedaliah—even the Babylonian bodyguards. The fact that eleven men could do this shows just how unsuspecting Gedaliah was to this coup.

(41:4-5) The fact that these men came from “Samaria” to worship shows that the theological and ethnic divide between the Jews and Samaritans hadn’t fully developed yet. The Samaritans had brought sacrifices (which was good), but they also cut themselves, which was a sign of pagan worship (Deut. 14:1).

(41:6-8) Again, Ishmael used the element of surprise to kill these 70 men. Why did he do this? It isn’t clear. Perhaps it is because these men were loyal to Gedaliah (i.e. they wanted to see his tomb). It’s also possible that this was just pure greed on Ishmael’s part, because he stole ten of the men’s grain (v.8).

(41:9-10) Ishmael was in league with the Ammonites (Jer. 40:14), so this would explain why he would take the survivors to Ammon to sell them as slaves.

(41:11-15) “Gibeon” was only a mile from Mizpah.^[201] Johanan effectively stopped Ishmael, and Ishmael falls out of the narrative at this point.

(41:16-18) Johanan gathered the people and took them to Egypt, because he was afraid of what the Babylonians would do in retaliation.

Concluding insights

Why is this chapter here? It shows that the nation is falling apart in anarchy.

Gedaliah had poor discernment.

Jeremiah 42 (Don’t go to Egypt)

(42:1-3) Johanan successfully stopped Ishmael’s evil coup of Gedaliah. Now, Johanan and his fellow commanders ask Jeremiah to pray for them. In such a turbulent time, they desperately needed spiritual direction.

“Jezaniah” is the same person as Azariah (Jer. 43:2).

(42:4-6) These men promised to do anything that God said through Jeremiah. Later, we realize that they just wanted Jeremiah to confirm what they already wanted to do—namely, go to Egypt (Jer. 43:2).

(42:7) Why did God wait ten days to reveal his will? To create suspense? To give the people time to think through their response?

(42:8-12) Jeremiah’s message was to stay in the land of Judah and not fear the king of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar). If the people did this, they would prosper. If not, they would be judged… again!

(42:13-17) It would seem logical to go to Egypt, because the war had subsided there. Meanwhile, foreign invaders filled Judah and the nation was destroyed. However, Judah’s judgment was over, and Egypt’s would soon begin. Therefore, Jeremiah tells the people to stay put.

(42:18-22) Jeremiah rebukes them for asking for a word from God when they had no intention of following it. Not only would Egypt face judgment, but the risk of falling back into idolatry would be even greater (cf. Jer. 43:12).

Concluding insights

It seems foolish that the people would ask for a word from God—only to disobey it or try to conform it to their own plan. Similarly, believers do the same thing today, twisting God’s word or godly counsel when their minds are already made up.

Jeremiah 43

(43:1-3) Johanan and his fellow commanders accused Jeremiah of lying in a co-conspiracy with Baruch. They were basically saying that Baruch was controlling the old man, Jeremiah. It’s interesting how godly counsel will often incur a reaction like this against the person who gives it.

(43:4-6) Johanan and his company left for Egypt. They brought Jeremiah, and this was most likely “against his will.”^[202] After all, Jeremiah was thoroughly against going to Egypt (Jer. 32:6-15; 40:1-6; 42:13-18).

(43:7) “Tahpanhes” was a palace of the Pharaoh, and it was “a fortress city on the northern border of Lower Egypt guarding the road to Syria.”^[203] Feinberg comments, “Think of it! Abraham’s descendants returned to Egypt long after their liberation from it. With great suffering they had been delivered from their bondage in Egypt only to return there a defeated and hopeless remnant nearly nine hundred years later.”^[204]

(43:8-11) Jeremiah continued to prophesy in Egypt. God told him to bury large rocks under the pavement (vv.8-9). This symbolized Nebuchadnezzar’s future palace. History tells us that Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt in 568-567 BC.^[205]

(43:12-13) Nebuchadnezzar would destroy Egypt and their false idols.

Jeremiah 44 (Judgment for those who fled to Egypt)

This is one of Jeremiah’s final messages, dating to ~580 BC.^[206]

(44:1-6) The people had just suffered immensely under the siege of Babylon for their idolatry. Now, they are only a few years from being kicked out of their land in the Exile, and they are immediately returning to idolatry. The fact that Jeremiah mentions multiple geographical locations in Egypt (v.1) demonstrates that the people had spread out far.

(44:7-10) The people were only hurting themselves: “Once more the nation was committing national suicide.”^[207]

(44:11-14) The language of “all Judah” (v.11) and “no refugees or survivors” (v.14) is hyperbole, because Jeremiah also states that “none will return expect a few refugees” (v.14).

(44:15-19) This is brazen and unrepentant rebellion in idolatry. The women may be prominent voices because they are worshipping the goddess Astarte (“the queen of heaven”). Feinberg writes, “The reference is probably to the Assyro-Babylonian Ishtar… Ishtar (Canaanite ʿAthtart) was the goddess of war and love. She represented the female principle of fertility (so Orelli). Her popularity is confirmed by the fact that at Babylon alone there were 18: open-air shrines dedicated to her worship (The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, 3:334-35). Ashtoreth is the Hebrew of which Astarte is the Greek.”^[208]

They argued for idolatry based on pragmatic reasons—that idolatry would result in plenty of food. Nowhere do the people realize that their suffering was a result of their sin and idolatry.

(44:20-28) This is Jeremiah’s final message in the book.^[209] Jeremiah pronounces judgment on the people—even ironically telling them to fulfill their vows! (v.25)

(44:29-30) Pharaoh Hophra (588-568 BC) would die, and this would be the sign of God’s judgment on the people.^[210] Feinberg writes, “Sixteen years after the Fall of Jerusalem, Hophra was dethroned and strangled by some of his subjects. Again Jeremiah was vindicated.”^[211]

Jeremiah 45 (Message to Baruch)

This short chapter lines up with chapter 36, and it dates to 604 BC.^[212]

(45:1-3) Baruch came from nobility. He was the grandson of Mahseiah (Jer. 32:12), who was the governor of Jerusalem during the time of Josiah (2 Chron. 34:8). He apparently had suffered alongside Jeremiah because of the messages of judgment that he recorded (v.3). Incidentally, Baruch was more concerned about his own emotional state than the fate of the nation (v.3).

(45:4-5) God tells Baruch that he should think of the fate of the nation of Judah, rather than his own hurt feelings. He also promises Baruch that he will spare his life when he leaves. This chapter is a message of admonishment as well as comfort for Baruch.

Prophecies for the Nations (Chs. 46-51)

God had originally appointed Jeremiah to be a prophet “for the nations” (Jer. 1:5). In these chapters, we see him speaking prophecies against the nations surrounding Judah and Israel. The prophecies speak of judgment for the nations, moving from west to east (Egypt to Babylon and everywhere in between).

Jeremiah 46 (God’s judgment on Egypt)

(46:1) This is a title verse for chapters 46-51.

(46:2) “Pharaoh Neco” killed Josiah in 609 BC. The fourth year of Jehoiakim was 605 BC.^[213]

“Carchemish” was a key city along the Euphrates River. The name means “fort of Chemosh,” the god of the Moabites. When the Egyptians lost to the Babylonians at the Battle of Carchemish, it was the downfall of the Egyptians.^[214]

(46:3-6) Jeremiah uses sarcasm here to refer to the “mighty” Egyptians going out for war.^[215]

(46:7-9) Egypt thought that it was going to conquer the world—especially with such a huge group of allies.

(46:10) Feinberg doesn’t think this refers to the end of history. It is a temporal judgment against Egypt in the past.^[216]

(46:11-12) Egypt was known for its healing “balms” and ointments.^[217] But there was nothing that could heal the nation now.

(46:13-14) At this point, Tyre was defeated, and now, Nebuchadnezzar could focus all of his military might on Egypt.

(46:15-17) The “mighty ones” could refer to soldiers or to the Egyptian deities (v.15). The LXX renders this as “Haf” the bull god of Egypt, but Feinberg takes the Hebrew text (MT) to be preferable.^[218] Pharaoh is described as a “big noise,” or a “braggart.”^[219] The soldiers blame Neco for failing in this battle.

(46:18) The coming of Nebuchadnezzar is compared to the great mountains in Israel (Tabor and Carmel).

(46:19) The Egyptians are told to get ready for their own exile.

(46:20-24) All of this figurative language describes Egypt as a fattened calf ready to be slaughtered. One of the main Egyptian gods was a “serpent” (the coiled uraeus).^[220]

(46:25-26) The Egyptians would be destroyed, but this would not be perpetual (v.26; Isa. 19:24-25; Ezek. 29:9-14). Sure enough, today, Egypt is still a nation. Like the Exodus, the attack would be a statement on the physical and spiritual powers of Egypt (“I am going to punish… her gods”).

(46:27-28) Judah and Israel would be regathered despite all of this global conflict.

Jeremiah 47 (God’s judgment on Philistines)

Many passages predict the destruction of the Philistines (Isa. 14:28-31; Ezek. 25:15-17; Amos 1:6-8; and Zeph. 2:4-7). The Philistines were attacked multiple times, but finally collapsed under the Maccabees and “merged into Israel.”^[221]

(47:1) It is difficult to date this prophecy because Jeremiah is not specific enough.^[222]

(47:2-4) The “waters” symbolize the Babylonian armies (Jer. 46:8), which will attack Tyre and Sidon.

(47:5) Shaving one’s head was a sign of mourning (Jer. 16:6; 41:5; 48:37). Gashing oneself was forbidden in the Law because it was associated with occult practice (Deut. 14:1).

(47:6-7) This could refers to the destruction of the Philistines under Judas Maccabeus (2 Macc. 15:15-16).

Jeremiah 48 (God’s judgment on Moab)

The Moabites descended from Lot (Gen. 19:37). They had been persistent enemies of Israel, and even joined Nebuchadnezzar in fighting Israel as recently as 605 BC (2 Kin. 24:2; Jer. 12:7-13). Many prophecies speak about the demise of Moab (Deut. 23:3; Ps. 60:8; 83:6-7; 108:9; Isa. 15-16; 25:10-12; Jer. 9:26; 25:21; 27:3; Ezek. 25:8-11; Amos. 2:1-3; Zeph. 2:8-11.)

(48:1-2) “Nebo” was a Moabite city (Deut. 32:49). Many of these other cities are unknown.^[223] Perhaps the reason why we don’t know of these cities is because the prophecies about them came true—namely, they were destroyed.

(48:3-6) The people are compared to a “juniper” in the wilderness, which would show their slow death and being lonely as they died.

(48:7) The sin of Moab was materialism (“achievements and treasures”), as well as idolatry. “Chemosh” was the deity of Moab. It was common for idols to be carried into captivity along with the people.^[224]

(48:8) The “valley” is the Jordan Valley, which reached as far as Moab on the western edge.^[225] Most of the Moabite cities were built on a “plateau.”

(48:9) Moab would be so utterly surrounded that she would need “wings” to get away.

(48:10) Apparently, this verse was a favorite of Pope Hildebrand (Gregory VII).^[226]

(48:11-12) The imagery of the “wine” shows that Moab was untouched for a while. But God promised to bring someone to spill the wine (v.12), which means to destroy Moab.

(48:13) The worship of the bull at “Bethel” led to major problems in the northern kingdom of Israel (1 Kin. 12:26-33).

(48:14-17) The Moabites were still boasting of their mighty soldiers, but God tells them that the time is near for them to be destroyed or exiled. The broken “scepter” refers to the destruction of the king’s staff.

(48:18-19) “Dibon” and “Aroer” were Moabite cities. Dibon is where the famous Moabite Stone was found in 1868.^[227]

(48:20-24) These towns are listed by name to show the extent of Moab’s destruction. They are also listed from north to south, and many of these cities are unknown today.^[228]

(48:25) The “horn” and “arm” were symbols of power.

(48:26) “Drunkenness” refers to losing their mind so that they would fall into judgment (cf. Jer. 25:27-29).

(48:27-28) Those who laughed at Israel will be ashamed of themselves.

(48:29) Pride (or its synonyms) is mentioned six times.

(48:30-35) God recognizes the futile boasting of these evil people (v.30). And yet, he also “wails” and “cries out” and “moans” and “weeps” for these evil people at their judgment (vv.31-32). However, God’s emotional life does not control him from doing what is right in judging them (v.35).

(48:36) Again, God “wails” for Moab. The “flute” was used at funerals, which shows that God is mourning over these people.

(48:37-39) The people of Moab wail as they are judged.

(48:40) Nebuchadnezzar is pictured as an “eagle” (Jer. 49:22; Ezek. 17:3).

(48:41) By describing these mighty men as a “woman in labor,” Jeremiah is showing the helplessness of these men.

(48:42-46) The judgment of Moab is described in detail.

(48:47) There is only a future for Moab in God’s sovereignty at the end of history (“in the latter days”).

Jeremiah 49 (God’s judgment on various nations and cities)

Prophecy against Ammon

The Ammonites descended from Ben-Ammi—the son of Lot (Gen. 19:38). They lived to the north of the Moabites. Many other passages predict the future of the Ammonites (Ezek. 21:20, 28-32; 25:1-7; Amos. 1:13-15; Zeph. 2:8-11).

(49:1) The Ammonites thought that the Israelites had no heirs because they had taken over the Israelite land after the Assyrian invasion of 722 BC. However, from God’s perspective, the land still belonged to the Israelites—hence the rhetorical question.

“Malcam” (malkām) is the god “Molech,” who was the local deity of the Ammonites.^[229]

(49:2-3) “Rabbah” was a chief city of the Ammonites.^[230] “Ai” is only mentioned here. It is not the Ai that was conquered by Joshua.^[231]

(49:4-5) The Ammonites had mountains on three sides and considered themselves untouchable (v.4), but Nebuchadnezzar destroyed them (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 10.181).

(49:6) Like the Moabites, God promises to restore Ammon at the end of human history.

Prophecy against Edom

The Edomites were descendants of Esau (Gen. 36). There are many predictions about the future of the Edomites (Ezek. 25:12-14; 35:1-15; Joel 3:19; Amos 9:12; Obad 1-16; Isa. 21:11-12; 34:5-7; 63:1-6). However, Obadiah is an especially good cross reference. Unlike Moab and Ammon, “there is no prophecy of future restoration for Edom.”^[232]

(49:7-8) The Edomites were known for their wisdom. That’s why this rhetorical question is such a powerful denunciation of them. They didn’t have enough “wisdom” to see judgment coming (v.8).

(49:9-10) Grape gatherers would leave scraps for the poor, but the enemies of Edom wouldn’t leave anything behind.

(49:11) This is a compassionate note: God will take care of the Edomite widows and orphans if they turn to him.

(49:12) The “cup” refers to God’s wrath for the nation.

(49:13) “Bozrah” was the capital of Edom during this time.^[233]

(49:14-15) The nations would rise up against Edom.

(49:16) The Edomites thought that they were untouchable. Feinberg writes, “The ‘rock’ (selaʿ) referred to was later called Sela (Petra, Gr.)—the capital city and chief fortress of the Edomites.”^[234]

(49:17) Edom would be permanently destroyed.

(Jer. 49:16-17) Did Jeremiah correctly predict the destruction of Edom?

(49:18-22) The language of the “eagle” and the “lion” both refer to Babylon in general and Nebuchadnezzar in particular.

Prophecy against Damascus

(49:23-27) Hamath and Damascus were important cities in Syria. Hamath was north of Damascus (110 miles), and Arpad was north of Hamath (95 miles).^[235]

The “sea” cannot refer to a literal body of water (because there was no seacoast during this time). It likely refers to people. It could also refer to the anxiety of the people.^[236]

“Ben-Hadad” was a dynasty in the 9^th and 8^th centuries.^[237] This was also the name of various kings (1 Kin. 15:18, 20; 2 Kin. 13:24).

Prophecy against Kedar and Hazor

(49:28-33) “Kedar” was a tribe descended from Ishmael (Gen. 25:13; Isa. 21:13, 16; Ezek. 27:21). “Hazor” does not refer to the fortress in Joshua 11, because this is a desert region. We have no other reference to this Hazor in the Bible.^[238] The ambiguity of these people could be because they would be permanently destroyed (v.33).

Prophecy against Elam

(49:34) “Elam” dates to very early history (Gen. 14:1). It was 200 miles east of Babylon.^[239]

(49:35) These people were known for their archery (Isa. 22:6).

(49:36-39) This prophecy doesn’t specifically mention Nebuchadnezzar or Babylon—only “enemies” (v.37). Elam will be restored at the end of human history (v.39). Feinberg comments, “Some have seen the fulfillment of this prophecy when Elam, with Susa as her capital, became the center of the Persian Empire. But the phrase ‘in days to come’ shows the eschatological dimension of the prophecy.”^[240]

Jeremiah 50 (Destruction of Babylon)

Notice how many verses God spends on Babylon’s destruction—compared to the other nations: two full chapters! These prophecies date near 594-593 BC, which was the fourth year of Zedekiah (Jer. 51:59-60).^[241]

(50:1) “Babylon” is the capital of the nation, but it also stands for the nation itself.^[242]

(50:2) The false idols of Babylon have been revealed to be worthless. The term “idols” (gillûleyhā) is not the common term used for idols. It can be translated “disgusting images” (NET) or “dung pellets” or “dungy things.”^[243]

(50:3-10) The nation from the “north” is the Media-Persian Empire (v.3). God tells his people to get out of Babylon when this happens. Most of this seems like it was fulfilled in the 6^th century BC, but the reference to the Jewish people getting an “everlasting covenant” sounds like it is still future (cf. Jer. 31:31-34).

(50:11-16) Babylon will be judged because of the way that they treated Israel (vv.11-12). Feinberg notes that Cyrus of Persia didn’t destroy Babylon in this way, so this must refer to a future fulfillment.^[244]

(50:17-20) This must be referring to messianic times, because Israel is pictured as sinless (v.20).

(50:21-28) “Merathaim” means “double rebellion.”^[245] “Pekod” means “visitation” or “punishment.”^[246] The Babylonians won’t be ready for this attack (v.24). Feinberg writes, “According to Herodotus (1.191), Cyrus captured Babylon by diverting the Euphrates River into a trench. The Persians attacked the Babylonians so unexpectedly that when the outer areas of the city had already been taken those in the center did not realize that they were captured.”^[247] This will be judgment for the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (v.28).

(50:29-32) The Babylonians were God’s agents of destruction against Judah, but they were also held responsible for their sin as well. Here they are seen as the height of pride.

(50:33-40) God is the “Redeemer” of his people by bringing the “sword” against Babylon. This seems to be a perpetual destruction: “It will never again be inhabited or dwelt in from generation to generation… No man will live there, nor will any son of man reside in it” (vv.39-40).

(50:41-46) The Media-Persian Empire was composed of “many kings.”

The “lion” was formerly Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 49:19), but now it is King Cyrus (v.44).

Jeremiah 51 (Destruction of Babylon continued)

(51:1) In Hebrew, “Leb Kamai” means “the heart of those who rise against me.”^[248] This refers to the Babylonians.

(51:2-4) All of the mighty warriors would be killed.

(51:5-10) Babylon is fulfillment of the earlier type of Babel (Gen. 11). This explains why Babylon’s judgment “has reached to heaven and towers up to the very skies” (v.9). This type is further fulfilled in a future “Babylon” at the end of history (Rev. 18).

(51:11-14) The “Medes” were former allies of the Babylonians during the destruction of Nineveh in 612 BC. But now, they are enemies who aided the Persians in destroying Babylon in 539 BC.^[249] God’s judgment is in part because of the destruction of the Temple (v.11).

(51:15-19) God is the only true Creator and Sustainer of the world (vv.15-16). In chapter 10, Jeremiah told the Israelites not to fear the false gods and idols of the nations. In this section, he excoriates the idols of Babylon (vv.17-18).

(51:20-23) Feinberg understands the “war club” to be Cyrus of Persia.^[250]

(51:24-26) Babylon is the “mountain” metaphorically depicted here (Dan 2:35, 44-45). After Babylon’s destruction, it will never again be rebuilt (v.26).

(51:27-33) This language of destruction and judgment is so chaotic that the reader feels like he is in the scene: Babylon is getting mercilessly attacked from all angles.

(51:34-35) The nation of Israel is personified as speaking about the horrors and mistreatments of Babylon.

(51:36-37) God takes up the case for Israel and pronounces judgment on Babylon.

(51:38) The great lion of Babylon is now like a “lion’s cub.”

(51:39-41) They will experience “drunkenness” and judgment and death.

(51:42-44) Babylon was known for its great city wall (Herodotus, 1.178-81). Here it is pictured in complete collapse.

(51:45-48) The people are told to get out of the Babylonian Exile in order to save their lives. They would be hearing false rumors and reports, but they should cling to God’s word instead. The nations would rejoice over the fall of Babylon (Rev. 19).

(51:49-53) The people of Jerusalem should get out (v.50). They will feel shame that they let the Babylonians rule in Israel for so long (v.51). Nevertheless, God will still save them and judge Babylon.

(51:54-58) Again, Babylon will be completely destroyed.

Message to Seraiah

(51:59-64) “Seraiah” was probably the brother of Baruch (Jer. 32:12), and he was the “quartermaster” who would look after the king. This event happened in 594-593 BC.^[251] Jeremiah told Seraiah to read a scroll describing all of the judgment that would come on Babylon. The people would’ve heard this at the beginning of the Exile, and therefore, they would’ve had reason for hope. Babylon was going down for good.

Jeremiah 52 (Extra historical material concerning the Fall of Jerusalem)

The purpose of this chapter is to show how Jeremiah’s prophecies all came true, vindicating him (rather than the false prophets). It is almost identical with 2 Kings 24:18-25:30.

(52:1-11) The OT describes the Fall of Jerusalem four times! (2 Kin. 25; 2 Chron. 36:11-21; Jer. 39:1-14) This shows how Nebuchadnezzar performed a siege on Jerusalem, took over the city, killed the royalty, and blinded Zedekiah. If only Zedekiah had listened to Jeremiah this would have gone differently.

(52:12-14) Nebuchadnezzar’s main captain (“Nebuzaradan”) burned the Temple and the houses of the people.

(52:15-16) Nebuzaradan took many people away into the Exile (v.15). He left the poorest people to work the land (v.16).

(52:17-23) Nebuzaradan scrapped the sacred vessels for their metal and took them back to Babylon.

(52:24-27) These false priests and false prophets were responsible for inciting Zedekiah to betray Babylon and side with Egypt. This is why Nebuzaradan had them taken to Nebuchadnezzar to be killed.

(52:28-30) There were three deportations: the first in 606 BC, the second in 597 BC, and the third in 586 BC.^[252] The total number of exiles was no doubt higher. This likely only records the males or the Jewish males.

(52:31-34) “Evil-Merodach” was Nebuchadnezzar’s son.^[253] Cuneiform tablets confirm this humane treatment of King Jehoiachin (~561 BC).^[254]

Why does the book end this way?

This shows that God is still with the line of David—even though the circumstances were bleak. Jeremiah ends the book with a glimmer of hope for God’s strategy in human history through the messianic line of David.

^[1] Feinberg, Charles. Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. 1986. 357.

^[2] Archer, Gleason. A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed.). Chicago: Moody Press. 1994. 400.

^[3] Feinberg, Charles. Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. 1986. 359.

^[4] Feinberg, Charles. Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. 1986. 359.

^[5] Feinberg, Charles. Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. 1986. 363.

^[6] Archer, Gleason. A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed.). Chicago: Moody Press. 1994. 401.

^[7] Feinberg, Charles. Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. 1986. 360.

^[8] Feinberg, Charles. Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. 1986. 372.

^[9] Archer, Gleason. A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed.). Chicago: Moody Press. 1994. 401.

[10] Merrill, Eugene H., Mark F. Rooker, and Michael A. Grisanti, The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2011), 380

[11] Merrill, Eugene H., Mark F. Rooker, and Michael A. Grisanti, The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2011), 382.

^[12] Feinberg, Charles. Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. 1986. 372.

[13] Merrill, Eugene H., Mark F. Rooker, and Michael A. Grisanti, The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2011), 382.

^[14] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 382). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[15] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 382). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[16] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 383). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[17] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, pp. 383-384). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[18] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 384). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[19] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 385). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[20] Craigie, P. C. (1998). Jeremiah 1-25 (Vol. 26, p. 16). Dallas, TX: Word, Incorporated.

^[21] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, pp. 385-386). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[22] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 390). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[23] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 391). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[24] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 391). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[25] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 393). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[26] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 393). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[27] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 397). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[28] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 397). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[29] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 399). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[30] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 400). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[31] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 401). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[32] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 401). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[33] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 402). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[34] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 402). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[35] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 406). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[36] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 407). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[37] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 407). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[38] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 409). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[39] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 411). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[40] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 411). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[41] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 413). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[42] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, pp. 413-414). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[43] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 414). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[44] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 420). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[45] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 422). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[46] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 424). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[47] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 424). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[48] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 425). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[49] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 426). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[50] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 427). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[51] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 429). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[52] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 429). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[53] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 430). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[54] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 431). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[55] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 432). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[56] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 433). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[57] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 433). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[58] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 434). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[59] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 438). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[60] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 439). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[61] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 441). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[62] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 444). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[63] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 444). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[64] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 445). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[65] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 446). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[66] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 446). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[67] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 447). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[68] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 448). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[69] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 449). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[70] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, pp. 449-450). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[71] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 451). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[72] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 453). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[73] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 456). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[74] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 456). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[75] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 458). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[76] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 460). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[77] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 460). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[78] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 461). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[79] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 461). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[80] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 462). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[81] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 462). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[82] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 464). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[83] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 466). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[84] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 468). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[85] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 468). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[86] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 470). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[87] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 474). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[88] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 475). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[89] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 478). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[90] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 478). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[91] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 479). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[92] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 481). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[93] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 481). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[94] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 482). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[95] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 483). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[96] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 483). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[97] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 486). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[98] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 486). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[99] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 490). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[100] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 491). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[101] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 491). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[102] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 491). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[103] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 493). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[104] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 494). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[105] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 496). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[106] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 498). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[107] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 499). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[108] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 500). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[109] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 500). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[110] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 501). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[111] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, pp. 502-503). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[112] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 504). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[113] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 505). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[114] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 505). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[115] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 505). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[116] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 505). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[117] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 506). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[118] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 509). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[119] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 510). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[120] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 513). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[121] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 516). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[122] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 516). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[123] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 517). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[124] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 517, 518). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[125] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 518). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[126] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 518). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[127] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 519). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[128] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 526). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[129] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 526). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[130] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 527). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[131] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 529). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[132] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 530). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[133] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 532). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[134] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 534). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[135] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 534). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[136] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 535). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[137] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 538). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[138] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 543). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[139] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 543). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[140] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 545). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[141] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 547). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[142] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 547). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[143] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 548). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[144] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 552). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[145] Emphasis mine. Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 553). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[146] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 555). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[147] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 555). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[148] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 558). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[149] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 560). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[150] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 560). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[151] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 560). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[152] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 564). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[153] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 566). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[154] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 566). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[155] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 567). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[156] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 569). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[157] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 571). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[158] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, pp. 574-575). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[159] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 575). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[160] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 578). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[161] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 579). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[162] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 579). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[163] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 579). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[164] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 579). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[165] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 580). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[166] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 583). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[167] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 585). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[168] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 587). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[169] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 590). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[170] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 590). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[171] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 591). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[172] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 592). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[173] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 594). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[174] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 595). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[175] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 595). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[176] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 596). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[177] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 599). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[178] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 599). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[179] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 600). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[180] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 601). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[181] We are indebted to Feinberg for the content in this list. Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 602). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[182] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 602). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[183] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 603). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[184] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 605). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[185] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 608). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[186] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 609). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[187] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 609). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[188] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 610). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[189] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 610). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[190] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 611). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[191] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 612). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[192] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 616). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[193] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 621). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[194] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 622). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[195] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 622). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[196] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 623). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[197] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 625). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[198] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 625). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[199] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 626). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[200] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 628). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[201] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 632). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[202] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 637). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[203] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 637). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[204] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 637). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[205] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 639). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[206] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 640). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[207] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 640). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[208] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 643). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[209] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 644). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[210] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 644). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[211] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 644). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[212] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 645). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[213] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 649). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[214] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 649). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[215] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 649). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[216] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 650). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[217] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 651). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[218] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 652). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[219] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 652). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[220] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 653). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[221] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 655). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[222] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 655). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[223] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 657). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[224] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 658). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[225] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 658). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[226] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 658). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[227] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 659). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[228] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 660). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[229] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 665). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[230] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 665). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[231] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 665). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[232] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 667). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[233] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 667). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[234] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, pp. 667-668). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[235] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 669). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[236] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 669). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[237] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 669). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[238] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 670). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[239] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 671). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[240] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 671). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[241] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 672). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[242] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 673). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[243] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 674). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[244] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 674). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[245] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 676). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[246] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 676). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[247] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 676). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[248] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 680). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[249] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 681). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[250] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 682). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[251] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 687). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[252] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 690). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[253] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 691). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[254] Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 690). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.